Maternal carrier status of hepatitis B has been associated with excess sons while maternal immunity to it has been associated with excess daughters at birth. However, the proportion of males at birth (sex ratio) is relatively low in Sub-Saharan Africa despite the relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B. However, no known study has tested this hypothesis in the Ghanaian population, hence the aim of the study. The study was cross-sectional between January and September 2023 at the Tamale Cent...
Maternal carrier status of hepatitis B has been associated with excess sons while maternal immunity to it has been associated with excess daughters at birth. However, the proportion of males at birth (sex ratio) is relatively low in Sub-Saharan Africa despite the relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B. However, no known study has tested this hypothesis in the Ghanaian population, hence the aim of the study. The study was cross-sectional between January and September 2023 at the Tamale Cent...
Abstract/Overview Neglect and under-utilization of legumes such as soybeans and bambaragroundnuts are the reason for increased food insufficiency in the Lake Vic toria basin. Diversification of legumes into the cropping systems of LakeVictoria basin ensures protein rich diets and improved soil fertility. Thisstudy was carried out to evaluate agronomic characters of two soybean vari eties and two bambara groundnut landraces cultivated on different soils ofLake Victoria basin. Seeds of two ...
Abstract/Overview Turcicum leaf blight (TLB) caused by the fungus Exserohilum turcicum is a serious threat toproduction of maize and sorghum, since it damages photosynthetic leaves. Growth and development of E.turcicum pathogen is influenced by factors such as light, temperature, dew period, plant age and inoculumsconcentration. Tharaka Nithi County in Eastern Kenya where sorghum is actively grown has heterogenous climatic and edaphic conditions. It is currently unclear if variations in t...
Abstract/Overview The study was conducted in Eastern Mau is one of the East Mau forest is an important watershed within the Mau Forest Complex, feeding major rivers and streams that make up the hydrological systems of Lake Victoria and inland Lakes of Nakuru, Baringo and Natron to document the bee flora and their respecetive reward value to compliment the participatory forest conservation approaches incorporating the Ogieks who are predominant forest dwellers, and known for bee keeping sk...
Abstract/Overview Without monitoring of animal behavior and the productivity of their environment, the success of a translocation cannot be properly ascertained, nor can important lessons be learned. This study investigated habitat utilization of the translocated Rothschild’s giraffes in Ruma National Park. Feeding giraffes were observed with an 8x40 pair of binoculars and plants eaten were collected, tagged, pressed and identified. For each plant species, “food- records” were summe...
Abstract/Overview Neonatal sepsis (NS) is the third most common contributor to neonatal deaths worldwide, the majority of which occur within the first 72 hours of life (Early-onset sepsis [(EOS)]). Diagnosis of EOS is challenging due to limitations with blood volume, poor sensitivity of culture, delay in culture results, and most importantly, lack of bacterial blood culture capacity in high burden settings. Current syndromic algorithms for diagnosis of EOS lack validations and are needed ...
Abstract/Overview Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in o...
Abstract/Overview The present paper gives some results on local minimum and orthogonality of normal derivations in Cp-Classes. We employ some techniques for normal derivations due to Mecheri, Hacene, Bounkhel and Anderson. Let CpCp be normal, then the linear map = attains a local minimum at x Cp if and only if z Cp such that ) Also let Cp, and let have the polar decomposition, then the map attains local minimum on Cp at T if and only if. Regarding orthogonality, let SCp and let N(S) have ...
Abstract/Overview Whereas phenetics emphasizes the use of maximum characters as practicable, decisions on how observations are translated to characters is of importance in systematics in order to partition objects in to nonoverlapping groups.The acetolysed pollen of selected Indigofera Linn. species were viewed under Mg x100 in Leica light microscope. Pollen characteristics of the following Indigofera species deposited in Maseno University Herbarium have been studied: I.paracapitata, I.as...
Abstract/Overview Vector populations fluctuate on a seasonal basis annually. Knowledge on seasonal abundance and distribution of vector species at the local level would improve vector control programmes and contribute to malaria prevention. Despite this, information on malaria vector species distribution and seasonal fluctuations in Baringo County is scarce. This study examined distribution and seasonal abundance of malaria vector species in Baringo. The study area was stratified into fou...
Abstract/Overview Background: Herbal medicines are used widely for primary health care in Kenya among rural populations where modern medicines are not affordable. The flowers, roots, stems and leaves of Senna didymobotrya have both antifungal and antibacterial activity. Decoctions or infusion are used to treat skin diseases, diarrhoea, malaria, venereal diseases and stomach problems. Methods: Plants were collected from farmers' fields in western Kenya. Stem bark, root bark, leaves, flower...
Abstract/Overview Low soil nitrogen (N) is a major constraint for sustainable crop production in smallholder farming systems in Africa. Grain legumes such as bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterraneaL. Verdc). can form N fixing symbiotic association with root nodule bacteria collectively called ‘rhizobia’; in a process that can supply sufficient N for the legume and other crops under intercrop or in rotation. There is currently insufficient information on the diversity of indigenous rhizo...
Abstract/Overview The contribution of appropriate inoculum strains to more efficient nitrogen fixation by legumes has been difficult to assess due to the laborious nature of the assays involved in assessing establishment of inoculum strains in the field. The use of marker genes, in particular the GUS system, changes this, making it possible to assess occupancy by the inoculum strain in large numbers of nodules on whole root systems. Here we used the GUS system to evaluate the competitive ...
Abstract/Overview Rhizobia were isolated from two Kenyan soils with pHs of 4.5 and 6.8 and characterized on the basis of their host ranges for nodulation and nitrogen fixation, colony morphologies, restriction fragment fingerprints, and hybridization with a nifH probe. The populations of rhizobia nodulating Phaseolus vulgaris in the two soils were similar in numbers and in effectiveness of N(inf2) fixation but were markedly different in composition. The population in the Naivasha soil (pH...