In Cameroon, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is amongst the legumes which are greatly consumed. Farmers in Cameroon especially the Menoua Division grow different common bean cultivars which after harvest, are stored to be used as food over the storage period or for sale. Storage of agricultural products become prone to fungal infection over time. Studies on the microbiology of stored common bean has identified fungi as a major contaminant. However it is possible that the incidence an...
ABSTRACT Vacuum evaporation is one of the mostly commonly used method for depositing thin films of metals, semiconductors or dielectrics on various substrates. Either molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), electron-beam (e-beam) or resistance heating is employed for heating the evaporant source material in vacuum. Resistive evaporation is the oldest method of depositing thin films in magnetron sputtering systems. As a problem common to deposition of films using resistive evaporation, the source mater...
Globally, there is a high demand for clean, sustainable and renewable energy for domestic and industrial use. Current photovoltaic cell technology relies heavily on crystalline silicon wafers. Silicon based solar cell are expensive because of their initial cost of production and they require complex deposition method. Due to these challenges, great research interest is now directed towards thin-film solar cells. In this research, chemical bath deposition (CBD) method is preferred because...
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is recognized as the leading bacterial pathogen in children hospitalized for acute diarrheal illness reflecting a significant cost in health resources. However, asymptomatic carriage of EAEC is also high making it difficult to distinguish the pathogenic and the non-pathogenic strains of EAEC. Establishing a marker which corresponds with diarrheal illness would be of significant value in routine detection of pathogenic EAEC and its differentiation...
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the third most valuable food crop in Kenya and the main source of proteins to smallholder farmers. However, its production is constrained by insufficient nitrogen (N) in the soil exacerbated by acidic soil conditions and phosphorus (P) fixation. Majority of smallholder farmers are resource limited hence apply negligible amount of inorganic fertilizers. Therefore, enhancing biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by bean germplasms grown by smallholder fa...
ABSTRACT Turbulent flow is a type of fluid flow in which the fluid undergoes irregular fluctuations. The velocity of the fluid at a point is continuously undergoing changes in both magnitude and direction. Turbulent natural convection has been studied both numerically and theoretically. It plays an important role in the field of heat transfer and buildings environment. A numerical study was performed on a rectangular enclosure with varying Rayleigh numbers to determine velocity, temperature ...
Genetic modification has come a long way since its inception with the first genetically engineered human insulin in 1982 and the first genetically modified tomato in 1994. The use of genetic engineering to modify crops has been a controversial issue which has raised scientific, environmental, economic, social and ethical/moral as well as religious concerns. In Kenya, the debate has been conducted with little involvement of key stakeholders, in particular farmers and consumers. Thorough e...
Natural activities like volcanic eruptions and anthropogenic activities such as excavation of rocks for buildings and road constructions expose originally concealed radioactive elements in the rocks within the earth crust. Poor agricultural practices such as excessive use of fertilizers lead to accumulation of radioactive elements in the environment. Transport agents like run-off water and rivers accumulate these radionuclides in lakes and other water bodies. Lake Nakuru is situated clo...
Drought adversely affects crop production worldwide leading to approximately 70% of yield reduction. Significant yield loss is common among the major cereals such as maize, wheat and barley due to frequent and severe drought as a result of climate change. Therefore, there is a great need for drought tolerant or escaping crops that still yield amidst erratic climatic manifestation. Sweetpotato is capable of producing high yield in a short period of time making it suitable for cultivation ...
Despite the progress that has occurred in recent years in the development of therapy, there is still a need for effective and potent analgesics for pain. Pain is defined as unpleasant feeling essential for body‘s defense system. Pain is managed using analgesics such as aspirin,paracetamol, diclofenac, morphine, opioids, among others. Conventional antinociceptives are expensive and have many side effects. Continued use of these drugs may lead to tolerance. Medicinal plants have been use...
Maize is an important staple food for most Kenyans. The increasing population trend in the face of declining yields in maize production has intensified food insecurity countrywide. The low grain yield can be attributed to foliar diseases mainly gray leaf spot and maize streak virus and expensive hybrid seeds. Hybrid testing is expensive and limited in number of hybrids that can be generated and tested each year. This has increased the need to improve maize production techniques to meet t...
ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome remains the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya being one of them. Over 407,000 patients were on antiretroviral therapy by the year 2015 nationally. Despite sustained clinical benefits associated to usage of antiretroviral drugs, adverse effects are emerging as a major safety concern. Some of the factors that have been identified as having an influence on the effect of ARV in disease control include a...
ABSTRACT Prunus africana (Hook. f) Kalkman, 1965 (formerly Pygeum africanum Hook.f) is a geographically widespread tree restricted to highland forest of main land Africa and outlying islands. The species is commercially important for its bark, which is used in the treatment of prostate gland disorders. It also produces high quality timber used locally for building poles and furniture as well as fuel wood. The high demand for the bark has led to notable destruction of the species in natural f...
ABSTRACT Knowledge of differential and integral cross sections for electron scattering from atoms and molecules is very important for explanation and understanding of electron interaction with matter and for determining dynamics of collision processes. It is also important in the study of astrophysics, plasma physics and laser development. For the past three decades, experimental and theoretical results for electron-barium elastic scattering have been reported however, these results are inco...
ABSTRACT The disposal of untreated municipal wastes is a problem that challenges public and environmental health on global scale. In Kenya, the high population growth rates, urbanization and growth of the industrial sector have compounded the problem of environmental sustainability, notably, due to the large volumes of solid waste generated. The traditional dumping and land filling have been methods of choice for solid waste disposal for many municipalities; however, they lead to the polluti...