Abstract Nutrient loading with nitrogen and phosphorus in receiving waters is an increasing concern worldwide. In Lake Victoria basin, the substantial inflow of nutrients has led to extensive eutrophication which has resulted in the reiterative proliferation of invasive species of aquatic weeds like water hyacinth and cyanobacteria in the Lake Victoria basin hence causing mass mortality of fish and health risks. Nowadays, anthropogenic activities such as crop production, sewage discharge, fo...
Abstract Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are widely grown throughout the world and provide valuable protein, vitamins and other nutrients. If the challenges related to its production are resolved, food security can be guaranteed for the growing population. Disease-causing pathogens are a major constraint in bean production. Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens causes bacterial wilt of common bean disease. This pathogen causes high economic losses due to seedling death, yield lo...
Abstract Cyanobacteria are a phylum of blue-green algae in the domain bacteria that get their energy from sun light through photosynthesis. In anaerobic environments, photoautotrophic blue green algae derive electrons by reduction of sulphur. In the Kenyan soda lakes, cyanobacteria serve as the sole source of food for Lesser Flamingos. Also, detection of these blue green algae blooms, is evident in these environments. Due to this reason, it has been hypothesized that the blooms may lead to p...
Abstract A SSU rRNA gene clone library was constructed to establish the diversity of eukaryotic plankton in the African soda lake Nakuru during a phase of low salinity (9.7 ppt = hyposaline). Normally, the lake is mesosaline (up to 50 ppt) and its phytoplankton is dominated by few species of cyanobacteria, in particular Arthrospira fusiformis, which is the main food resource of Lesser Flamingos. Our study recovered a unique phytoplankton species composition characterized by a high diversity ...
Abstract Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that have simple multicellular or unicellular cell structures. They are distributed in terrestrial soils, forests, aquatic habitats and in extreme environments with high ambient salts, temperature, pH and pressure. Fungi from extreme environments are potential sources of novel biocatalysts for example antimicrobial agents that can help solve the rising cases of drug resistance. However, the diversity of fungi recovered and described from less stud...
Abstract: Fermentation is a metabolic process of microorganisms to obtain energy by breaking down organic compound. Potato peel waste was fermented with different concentration substrate (1gm, 2.5gm, 5gm, 10gm, 15gm, 20gm and 25gm) with 1% yeast and pH4.5 in different fermentation period (4th day, 8th day, 12th and 16 th days) with the aim of optimizing the substrate concentration for ethanol production. Among the different substrate concentration 10 gram of substrate produced more quantity ...
Abstract: Banana is an edible fruit and herbaceous flowering plant belonging to genus musa and family musaceae.Banana is a source of natural antioxidants and has good antimicrobial potential. Banana Peel is nutritional and rich in phytochemical compounds than its pulp. Characterization of the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of endophytic fungi extracted from banana peel and pulp is the main purpose of this study.The banana fruit sample was collected from dingete locality Gemechis di...
Abstract: Fruit are very important for human being which contribute vital nutrients especially Vitamin C. However Fruit which are contaminated during harvesting and transporting. From different area. poor hygienic conditions, using of tap water for cleaning and unsafe environmental conditions of fruit resulting in different food borne illnesses. The study was aimed to assess bacteriological load of fruit served in cafes and restaurants of Chiro town. A cross sectional study was conducted fro...
Abstract: The effect of salt treatment on Brassica carinata (BC) microgreens grown under different light wavelengths on glucosinolates (GLs) and phenolic compounds were evaluated. Quantifiable GLs were identified using ultra-high performance-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Extracts’ ability to activate antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) was evaluated on human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116). Furthermore, BC compounds’ ability to activate ...
Abstract: Monitoring of destructive invasive weeds such as those from the genus Striga requires accurate, near real-time predictions and integrated assessment techniques to enable better surveillance and consistent assessment initiatives. Thus, in this study, we predicted the potential ecological niche of Striga (Striga asiatica) weed in Zimbabwe, to identify and understand its propagation and map potentially vulnerable cropping areas. Vegetation phenology from remote sensing, bioclimatic an...
Escherichia coli which synthesize extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) have been implicated in severe human diseases. There is substantial evidence that cattle faeces have a role in developing and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens, raising public health concerns. The study is aimed at detecting ESBL-producing E. coli associated with cattle faeces within Owo metropolis. Freshly passed faecal samples were taken aseptically from 9 apparently healthy cattle that were about to be sl...
ABSTRACT Microbiological and physico-chemical analyses and sensory evaluation were carried out on commercially and freshly prepared orange juice (100%) in the laboratory and its shelf- life after the storage period of 90 days using various storage methods. At the end of the study, the result showed that the laboratory processed orange juice in terms of the nutritional composition when compared with the commercially processed orange juice had a better quality considering the parameters assess...
The emergence of new drugs is often driven by the escalating resistance of parasites to existing drugs and the accessibility of more advanced technology platforms. Microfluidic devices have allowed for quicker testing of compounds, regulated sampling/sorting of entire animals, and automated behavioral pattern detection. In the majority of microfluidic devices, the effects of drugs on small animals (e.g. Caenorhabditis elegans)elegant are quantified by an endpoint, dose response curve that sho...
This new microfluidic platform offers a more sensitive method for screening drugs and their effects on the locomotion of free living and parasitic nematodes. The chip is capable of monitoring four nematode parameters (number of worms responsive, number of worms leaving the drug well, average worm velocity and time until unresponsiveness) to provide a more detailed analysis and resolution of drug resistance. The drug screening experiment is divided into three parts: pre-exposure study, dose ex...
An open microfluidic system has been developed to dispense and manipulate individual droplets on plastic sheets. Superhydrophobic material is applied to the surface of obtainable plastic sheets by spraying, then hydrophilic symbols are printed with an inkjet printer. The plastic sheets are connected to a two-axis tilting platform driven by stepper motors, which produces mechanical agitation enabling droplet transport. The system has been demonstrated to carry out various droplet operations, s...