ABSTRACT Maize is the staple crop in Eastern Province of Kenya especially in Makueni, Kangundo, Kibwezi, Machakos and Kitui South Districts. It has been noted that the abiotic and biotic stresses associated with these Districts promote growth of toxigenic fungi that produce mycotoxins in maize in storage. The aflatoxin producing species of Aspergillus are a common phenomenon in maize contamination that has led to frequent outbreaks of aflatoxicoses in these regions. To address this problem, t...
ABSTRACT Adolescents regularly participating in sports and do not meet their energy intake may develop several medical conditions, such as disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and decreased bone mineral density, collectively referred to as the Female Athlete Triad (FAT). Limited data is available on components of FAT in adolescent athletes of African descent. This study’s aim was to investigate the presence of the components of the female athlete triad amongst a group of junior long fe...
Abstract Knowledge of differential and integral cross sections for electron-atom or electron-ion collision is very important in the study of astrophysics, plasma physics and laser development. So it is essential to make studies of differential and integral cross sections for electron atom collision either experimentally or theoretically. In this study the Distorted Wave Method has been applied to calculate the differential and integral cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by a m...
ABSTRACT The numerous applications of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in industries for production of domestic and commercial commodities have made it necessary to find ways of improving its mechanical properties. The most common way of doing this is to add reinforcement such as glass fibers. However these composites suffer limitations due to reduced recyclability, great weight and difficult to thermo-form. In order to improve properties such as specific strength, stiffness and thermo-formab...
ABSTRACT Entamoeba histolytica, an intestinal protozoan parasite, is the causative agent for amoebiasis which is the third leading parasitic disease causing deaths in humans after malaria and schistosomiasis. Globally, it is responsible for 40,000 to 100,000 deaths annually. Amoebiasis is on the rise in Kitui County and is responsible for diarrheal illnesses and early deaths in children under 5 years. There is no surveillance system in Kenya to combat the disease and its real level of occurre...
ABSTRACT Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev is a tree species native to Africa and the Middle East. It is an important agro-silvo pastural species owing to its morphological and physiological dynamics that mediate improvement of soil structure and fertility while offering several other benefits to farmers and the environment. Key among these is its reverse phenology, a phenomenon that allows the tree to compete minimally with crops while providing a favorable microclimate for their growth. It ...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the performance of three numerical turbulence models; k -e , k -w and k -w - SST in predicting heat transfer due to natural convection inside an air filled cavity. The heat transfer due to natural convection inside a rectangular closed cavity should be modeled to include the effect of turbulence for Rayleigh number greater than or equal to 9 10 .The non-linear terms i j u u and qi u in the averaged momentum and energy equations respectively were modeled using...
ABSTRACT With the onset of industrialization, humanity has witnessed various ecological issues in the society and disturbance of ecosystem. Heavy metals and methylene blue are very toxic substances known to cause detrimental effects to human health when ingested even at low concentrations. Several techniques are available for removal of heavy metals, and dyes from the wastewater such as chemical precipitation, ion exchange, adsorption, membrane among others. Among these technologies adsorptio...
ABSTRACT Medicinal plants play a major role for sources of lead compounds in drug discovery. Studies done have shown that plants, fungi such as mushrooms and seaweeds are a good source of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer and antimicrobial activities. Antioxidants play main role by hindering oxidation by protecting cells from damage by free radicals. This protects the body from cancer and other chronic ailments like heart diseases. Anti-inflammatory effect i...
ABSTRACT Cosmetics are generally used to improve the appearance by the removal or correction of blemishes and to treat diseases of the human skin and hair. Skin-lighteners which include hydroquinone, mercury, arbutin, kojic acid, ascorbyl glucoside, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate have been frequently used in skin lightening creams and soaps. However chronic exposure to mercury compounds in skin lightening creams and soaps may lead to various disorders such as nephritic, peripheral neuropathy, a...
ABSTRACT This study models natural turbulent convection in a rectangular enclosure with localized heating and cooling. The equations used in modeling the flow are the equation of continuity, momentum equation and the energy equation. These equations are decomposed using the Reynolds decomposition then the decomposed equations are non – dimensionalised and reduced using the Boussinesq assumptions. The model that is considered is a rectangular enclosure with one side wall being heated and the...
ABSTRACT Lawsonia inermis Linn, commonly known as henna, is an ethno botanical plant which has been used since antiquity for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Henna painting is an art of beautification which is commonly practised by the people of Lamu County. Heavy metals such as Pb, Cd and Ni are toxic and commonly found in cosmetic products such as henna. The level of these metals in henna leaves and henna products from Lamu is not known. The aim of the study was to determine the level of Pb...
ABSTRACT Kenya is endowed with nature where hundreds of medicinal plants are available. During photosynthesis and respiration process in plants, animals and other organisms, ions of metal elements play a major role with a few of the elements being essential to the body as nutrients. Trace elements Zn, Cr, V and Se with known immunological response and healing properties were analysed from selected medicinal plants available in Kenya. These plants were; Prunus africana, Urtica massaica, Mayten...
Aim: To document the ethnobotanical uses in Taktse Chiwog (Village blocks) by local healers Study Design: Semi-structured interview and direct interview was conducted with the prior approval from the Chiwog official. Two local healers/informants were contacted for interview before field visits based on their popularity and experience of using medicinal plants in their locality. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Taktse Chiwog, Trongsa Dzongkhag, Bhutan between July and O...
Aim: To document the medicinal uses of homegarden plants by local healers. Study Design: Semi-structured interview was conducted with the prior approval from the gewog official. Five local healers were contacted for interview before field visits based on their popularity and experience of using medicinal plants in their locality. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Gosiling gewog, Tsirang District, Bhutan between May and June 2016. The homegarden and agricultural pract...