ABSTRACT Tinea capitis is a worldwide public health problem that affects children below 15 years of age and requires identification of the specific causative fungal agent. The hair and skin of the scalp are associated with symptoms and signs of inflammation and hair loss. Poor hygiene, low standards of living, sharing of hair devices or garment, climate conditions and overcrowding are some of the predisposing factors contributing to frequent transmission of the infection. Several previous st...
ABSTRACT Chewing of Khat, which typically consists of the young leaves and shoots of the Catha edulis plant for its stimulant effects, is rampart in East, Central and Southern Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iraq, Iran Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Khat contains more than 40 alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Most of the effects of chewing Khat are thought to come from two phenylalkylanines-cathinone and cathine which are structurally related ...
ABSTRACT Information on the potency of many African medicinal plants against microorganisms is scanty, and in the current wave of antimicrobial resistance against chemotherapeutic drugs, there is need to search for plants that could be having phytochemicals that are resistance-free, affordable and with fewer and less side effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the phytochemical properties with respect to antimicrobial effects of the crude and pure components from extracts o...
ABSTRACT A novel mGuide turn-by-turn Android mobile application for GPS outdoor voice navigation has been developed and presented, which is adapted for visually challenged people. The application was developed in response to the challenges of outdoor navigation by visually impaired persons. The application optimizes five map servers to give the best navigation information at any particular instance and loads map tiles very fast due to superior rendering procedures of the open street maps; lo...
ABSTRACT African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) have been recommended as the most affordable source of minerals and vitamins for African families. They can be used to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies but have been underutilized due to lack of nutrition information, leading to consumption of the lesser nutritious exotic vegetables. Vihiga County is endowed with these AIVs but cases of micronutrient deficiencies remain a challenge. The potential of these AIVs as sources of micronutrients is ...
ABSTRACT Global crop and energy production are fast dwindling inversely to population growth. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) yield has reduced worldwide due to soil infertility which can be reversed through application of chemical fertilizers. The chemical fertilizers used to ameliorate nitrogen, phoshorus and potassium are expensive and cause both deleterious physico‒chemical modification of soil and water mass eutrophication. The common bean has ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen s...
ABSTRACT Climate variability is now a reality and its effects continue to affect agriculture especially crop yields. Maize is said to be one of the crops adversely affected by climate variability. It is projected that unless bold steps are taken to reduce the effects of climate variability on crop yields, then the magnitude of its effect shall be enormous. It is based on this uncertainty that this paper was premised to interrogate the effects of climate variability (temperature and precipita...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a key hindrance to the improvement of health in tropical and subtropical countries of the world with more than two billion people exposed to it. One of the approaches of controlling vectors of malaria is by targeting aquatic stages at source. This would lead to significant reduction in the adult vectors as well as malaria transmission. Entomopathogenic bacteria Bacillus thuriengiensis var israelensis (Bti) and Bacillus sphaericus (Bs) in the form of dispersable granular f...
ABSTRACT Diarrhoeal diseases in Kenya are among the five main causes of mortality in children younger than five years. Bacterial diarrhoea has been reported to account for up to 30 % of all cases of infantile diarrhoea. Among children of age five years and below, diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC) such as enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) are the most important enteric pathogens and are responsible for 30 to 40 % of all the diarrhoeal...
ABSTRACT In the area of security, industry and academia have actively conducted research and implemented several systems which can be used to enhance security. However, many of these systems are not always suitable for outdoor activities and also their cost is very high. An easily portable and a versatile device like a mobile phone become handy for enhancing personal security. In this work, an optimal mobile phone-based route detection application has been developed. It locates and monitors ...
ABSTRACT There has been considerable progress in the understanding of conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as cigarette smoking, hypertension, hyperlipideamia and diabetes. However they do not fully account for cardiovascular disease-associated complications. As a result, novel risk factors such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine have come under investigation. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and interrelation of conventional and novel ris...
ABSTRACT Biodiesel as an alternative fuel for diesel engines is becoming increasingly important due to diminishing petroleum reserves and the environmental consequences of exhaust gases from petroleum-fuelled engines. The availability and sustainability of sufficient supplies of less expensive feedstock will be a crucial determinant delivering a competitive biodiesel to the commercial filling stations. Fortunately, inedible vegetable oils, mostly produced by seed-bearing trees and shrubs can...
ABSTRACT The 2014 Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) and Micronutrient Survey reportshowed malnutrition among children aged 5-11 years in Kenya. In particular,malnutrition in Machakos County manifested as stunting (26.3 %), wasting (6.3 %),underweight (12.7 %), marginal vitamin A deficiency (VAD) (33.9 %), anemia (16.5%), zinc deficiency (82.5 %) and iron deficiency (9.4 %). African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables (AILVs) such as Vigna unguiculata and Amaranthus cruentus can be usedto fight ...
ABSTRACT This study examined accommodation challenges facing seasonal commercial workers during tourism peak season in Malindi Town. Malindi Town is one of the major tourist destinations in Kenya with the tourism peak season starting from July to March each year. The town experiences an increase in population as a result of seasonal commercial workers who visit the area in search of employment and other income generating economic activities such as trade. This exerts pressure on the existing...
ABSTRACT Iron deficiency anaemia contributes to 50% cases of anaemia and it remains a concern in the public health sector in sub-Saharan Africa and children under five years are at risk. It is associated with poor cognitive development and affects growth of preschool children. The interventions in most of sub-Saharan Africa focus on the improvement of hemoglobin (Hb) levels but it is not clear if Hb and iron levels relate in areas where there are multi-factorial causes of anaemia. The preval...