Abstract Purpose: Ready-to-eat fast food vending outlets provide a cheap and readily available food. Foodborne diseases have been previously reported in Embu, Kenya, but data on the prokaryotic metagenome in vended foods is scanty. This study aimed to determine the prokaryotic diversity in fruits, vegetable salad, African sausage, chips (potato fries), fried fish, roasted beef (meat), smokies, samosa, soil, and water collected from food vendors and the surrounding environment in Embu Town an...
Abstract: Rapid population and economic growth, increased health benefits of aquatic food, and changes in lifestyles and preferences as a result of rapid urbanization and globalization are all contributing to the rapid growth of aquaculture production in Kenya. Despite significant investment efforts from the national and devolved governments as well as donors and international organizations, smallholder aquaculture production is yet to result in a significant increase in incomes and improved...
Abstract: Background The combined application of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) are commonly used malaria interventions that target indoor Anopheles vectors. Recent studies on the effects of house screening (HS) and LLINs have demonstrated a reduction in indoor vector densities and malaria when the interventions are combined. In addition, complementary interventions are needed to curb co-occurring pest populations which pose menace to agricultural c...
Abstract: The bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae is ubiquitous in nature and is found on the general vegetation and their fruits. The subspecies “pneumonia” is known to cause community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia in immune-compromised persons (Ko et al., 2002; Yu et al., 2007; Yinnon et al., 1996 and Struve and Krogfelt, 2004). Some the vegetation and wild fruits form part of the staple diet or is consumed as delicacies in Botswana. The potential presence of K. pneumoniae therefore po...
Abstract: The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a devastating invasive pest and a threat to food security in Africa, with yield losses of 20–50%. Recent studies highlighted the importance of cereal crops such as maize and sorghum as the most preferred host plants for FAW oviposition. In the current work, we investigated the olfactory responses of FAW and its key larval endoparasitoid Cotesia icipe to odours from the preferred host (maize) in the presence of six potential compa...
Abstract Drylands in eastern Africa typically suffer from unsustainable land uses that have evolved in the recent past. This paper reports on how agroforestry practices can contribute to sustainable land use in drylands drawing on examples from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, India and the Sahel. The paper also reviews other drivers of successful dryland rehabilitation programmes and examines opportunities and constraints in dryland agroforestry extension programmes. The paper conclude...
Agrawal, M. (2015). “Review of a 40‐year debate in international advertising”, InternationalMarketing Review, 12(1): pp. 26‐48.Boyland, E. J., & Harris, J. L. (2017). Regulation of food marketing to children: Are statutory orindustry self-governed systems effective? Public Health Nutrition, 20(5), 761–764Cassim, S. B. & Bexiga, D. (2017). The regulation of advertising to children: A comparativeassessment, Alternation, 14 (1), 137-165Cassim, S. & Langton, R. (2016). Current issues in...
Ghana’s “Planting for Food and Job” programme aims to improve farmers’ access to farm inputs. The idea is that through improved access to quality seed varieties, fertilisers and good agronomic practices, output would increase leading to an increased market surplus. This study sought to investigate whether engagement in ‘Planting for Food and Job’ (PFJ) programme influences farm households’ maize commercialization level in Savelugu Municipality, in the Northern Region of Ghana. T...
The conflict and insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the North-East of the country, apart from Boko Haram terrorists and insurgents; is aggravated by other equally social menaces of kidnapping, banditry and cattle rustling among others. The impact of protracted conflict and insurgency has affected both human development and capital-infrastructural development with many people including women and children displaced in addition to being faced by humanitarian challenges of water, sanitation, ...
Abstract Introduction Despite documentation on injection drug use (IDU) in Kenya, the nutritional status of people who inject drugs (PWIDs) is under-explored. Elsewhere studies report under-nutrition among PWIDs which is attributed to food insecurity; competing priorities between drugs and food supply; chaotic lifestyle; reduced food intake; substance use induced malnutrition due to inflammation and comorbidities. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that sought to assess the nutritional...
Abstract: Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an important starch staple crop, cultivated primarily in south and southwestern Ethiopia. Enset is the main crop of a sustainable indigenous African system that ensures food security in a country that is food deficient. Related to the banana family, enset is similarly affected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes impose a huge constraint on agriculture. The distribution, population density and incidence of plant-parasitic nematodes o...
Abstract: Parasitic plants, through a range of infestation strategies, can attack crop plants and thereby require management. Because such problems often occur in resource-poor farming systems, companion cropping to manage parasitic plants is an appropriate approach. Many examples of companion cropping for this purpose have been reported, but the use of cattle forage legumes in the genus Desmodium as intercrops has been shown to be particularly successful in controlling the parasitic witchwe...
The use of seasonings to enhance the flavor of food has been on the increase in recent time. Different types of seasonings are produced daily. Theconstituent of these flavor-enhancers is unknown to ignorant consumers. They only want to eat food with good taste without consideration of theeffect of these additives on their health. These seasonings contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) which really spiced the food. This review focuses onthe toxicological effect of monosodium glutamate in seasoning...
INTRODUCTION The advancements in information system technologies into today’s society have given rise to several concerns regarding data security and privacy. However, these concerns relate to protective measures taken with respect to digital privacy and the protection of unauthorised access to databases of information. Regarding information system technologies, computer games have been designed in such manner to collect, process and store personal data of the gamers. This raises several co...
Abstract This study examined Kenya's national security threats resulting from the withdrawal of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This was in light of previous Peace Support Operation Transitions (PSO) in Iraq and Afghanistan, where regional instability resulted from troop withdrawals. Therefore, it analysed the impact of PSO experiences on national security, aiming to identify potential threats to the national security of Troop-Contributing C...