ABSTRACT Mango production in Kenya has been on the rise. In 2013 about 581,290 MT were produced of which 40% were lost due to lack of proper postharvest management practices. The greatest loss was through pest and microbial spoilage and chemical deterioration of nutrients. The study aimed at developing methods to preserve the nutritional quality and reduce post-harvest losses in the mango value chain. Using a structured questionnaire, randomly administered to 40 mango farmers, post handling p...
Abstract One of the central goals of plant ecology is to understand the factors that control the local distribution of plant species and thus the composition of communities. The aim of this study is to determine plant functional traits that can be associated with drought tolerance/avoidance and to test whether wood density is a good indicator of drought tolerance. The study was carried out in Kruger National Park in the month of June. A number of plant traits including wood density, leaf thic...
ABSTRACT Polyphenols are the primary compounds responsible for the health benefits of tea, including its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Caffeine contributes to tea’s stimulant properties, while gallic acid and polyphenols contributes to its antioxidant properties. Most of the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methods used for the determination of tea biochemicals include gradient elution systems which involve expensive instrumentation. The aim of this study was t...
ABSTRACT Karate and Pyagro are insecticides currently registered and used in Kenya for control of several insect and mite pests in diverse crops. They are emulsifiable concentrate formulations of the active ingredients lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate) and Pyrethrins (Pyagro). This study established residue levels for lambda-cyhalothrin and Pyrethrins in fresh tea leaves, black tea and brewed tea. The study evaluated the effect of tea preparation procedures on pesticide residue levels in tea and mo...
ABSTRACT Banana is a popular and important crop among many communities in East Africa. It is used both as a subsistence and cash crop. Bananas provide a major source of carbohydrates for over 400 million people in tropical countries, about 25% of these being in Africa. In Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, banana consumption ranges from 250 to 400 kg per person per year. In Kenya, production stands at around 210,000 metric tonnes annually. However, banana production is threatened by a number of vir...
ABSTRACT Radon gas is the most important source of natural radiation. Indoor radon concentration is the main path of human exposure to high radon concentration. Radon contribution from concrete block walls of typical Nigerian dwellings has been estimated from gamma ray spectroscopy measurements of radium concentration using generic equation. The radon concentrations varied from 11.27 Bq m-3 for a dwelling of dimensions 4.8 m × 4.8 m and 18.52 Bq m-3 for a dwelling of 3.6 m × 3.6 m. The eff...
ABSTRACT Particulate emissions and organic volatiles produced by incomplete combustion processes have attracted the attention of many environmental experts. Consequently, increasing concern has been directed towards the study of human health problems caused by carcinogenic and mutagenic soot components such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polyenes from various combustion systems. Soot from many combustion systems are well-known precursors for numerous toxicological impacts in t...
Abstract Few studies of rock-lobster diet have included analyses of mature females or juveniles of either sex. This study focused on the diet of male and female West Coast rock lobsters (Jasus lalandil) in three size classes (viz.: 10 - 35 mm CL (carapace length) - small, 40 - 59 mm CL - medium and 70 - 85 mm CL - large), using visual analyses of stomach contents. The principle aims were to examine potential differences in diet between: (1) male and female rock lobsters; (2) changes in diet ...
ABSTRACT Most ecological assessments often focus on one ecosystem without investigating the integrity of contiguous ecosystems and implications thereof on the habitat of interest. From a conservation perspective, ignored ex situ processes may counteract management interventions in an ecosystem of interest if the former aren’t taken into account. This study sought to assess land-use cover change and its potential relationship or impact on the integrity of contiguous mangroves downstream. Car...
ABSTRACT The causes of malnutrition among women of reproductive age are complex but it is mainly attributed to diets lacking diversity. Agro-biodiversity is widely perceived as a promising strategy to improve dietary diversity and ultimately nutritional status. The main objective of this study was to assess the relationship between agro-biodiversity, dietary diversity and nutritional status of women aged 15-49 years in two different agro-ecological zones (low and high agricultural potential a...
ABSTRACT Onsetof uncomplicated malaria is characterized by fever, headache, joint pains, myalgia and lack of appetite. These non-specific signs and symptoms also presentin patients with arthropod borne viral (arboviral) infections complicate differential diagnoses. The lack of diagnosticsthat can detectarboviral infections in Kenyan public hospitals coupled with malaria diagnostic tools incapable of detecting low Plasmodiumparasitemia,has led to diagnosis based on clinical symptoms only,favou...
Abstract Seagrass meadows have important ecological roles in coastal ecosystems and provide high-value ecosystems services compared to other marine and terrestrial habitats. Despite this, there is growing evidence that this key ecosystems is declining on a global scale. Much of these declines have been attributed to the effects of human alterations of marine habitats. Continued destructive activities, in both South Africa and elsewhere, if not managed properly will result in the demise of sea...
ABSTRACT The diseases transmitted by mosquito continue to be rampant and in most case fatal especially in the developing countries. Mosquito is the main vector for malaria. Malaria is a scourge and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimations, over 40% of the world population remain exposed to malaria. In Kenya, about 25,000 children die of malaria each year; although the actual number of deaths is unknown since most of them occur at home. Since prevention is better than cure...
Abstract This study utilized combination of phase plots,time Steps distribution and adaptive time steps Runge-Kutta and fifth order algorithms to investigate a harmonically Duffing oscillator.The object is to visually compare fourth and fifth order Runge-Kutta algorithm performance as took for seeking the chaotic solutions of a harmonically excited Duffing oscillator.Though fifth order algorithms favours higher time steps and as such faster to execute than fourth order for all studied cases.T...