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In this paper the scheduling of n independent jobs on m non-identical machines is considered for a large concrete schedule space for 30 jobs and 6 machines. The schedule space is about 1023 which is large enough to render exhaustive systematic search for the optimal schedule limited. The schedules are generated by agents that represent the jobs as they randomly select the machines on which the jobs should be processed. The schedules that are generated are evaluated using the makespan which is the total time taken for all the jobs to be processed. The optimal schedule, which is also the best schedule, is the one with the minimum or least makespan for any given set of job and machine properties. It is shown that the empirical best schedules that are generated are optimal when the job and machine properties are held to some uniform constant values. It is also shown that even when the job and machine properties are not uniform the empirical best schedules closely approximate the optimal schedules. This makes the agent-based approach to optimal schedule generation viable.

Quantitative ethnoecological analysis of seasonal availability and implication to food security of wild edible plants (WEPs) was conducted in Boosat and Fantalle districts of semiarid east Shewa, Ethiopia from October, 2009 to September, 2010. Semistructured interview, focus group discussions, key informants discussions, seasonal record of fruits abundance were used to collected data on gathering and consumption of WEPs to cope with food shortage and adapt to climate change. Collected data was summarised into frequency tables, graph and qualitatively described under each subtopic. Thirty seven WEPs were identified for use as human food, and livestock feed and other multipurpose uses. About 24.3 % of WEPs were locally marketed, 75.7% were not marketed. All wild fruits were not included in official production system in the study area. It has indicated the underutilized existing potential of WEPs. Wild edible plants were preferred by local people of the study area not only for their food value, but also for their availability during dry seasons and shortage of food, potential for dryland agrobiodiversity and multipurpose to human wellbeing, livestock and environmental services they provide. Pairwise ranking by key informants was in agreement with direct matrices ranking for multiple uses of WEPs. The pairwise ranking, market survey and participant observations, community preference has confirmed the real potential of top seven priority WEPs species for dryland agrobiodiversity and agroforestry. Hence, these WEPs can be potential for dryland agrobiodiversity and agroforestry, to enhance people’s livelihoods in semiarid areas. This result can shed light on further research and promotion work on WEPs utilization and management.

Key words: Wild, edible plants, seasonal, availability, food security, use, management.

The botanical and chemical composition, intake and digestibility of local sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hirtus) diets were evaluated over the wet (growing) and dry (dormant) seasons. Diet botanical composition was related to the vegetation composition on the range. Commiphora riperia and Acacia tortilis were the most dominant tree species, while Duosperma kilimandscharicum and Premna hildebrandtii were the most dominant shrub species. Enteropogon macrostachyus, Cenchrus ciliaris and Chloris roxburghiana were the most abundant grass species, while Brepharis integriifolia, Commelina benghalensis and Macrotylomma axillare were the most dominant forb species. Grasses increased towards the end of the wet season and the beginning of the dry season, while the forbs decreased. Eragrostis caespitosa, Cenchrus ciliaris, Eragrostis superba, Enteropogon macrostachyus and Themeda triandra were the most dominant grass species in sheep diets during both seasons, accounting for over 82% of the diet. Acalypha fruticosa, Grewia similis and G. bicolor were the most important browse species in goat diets in both seasons, while Eragrostis caespitosa and E. superba were the most common grass species during both seasons. Overall, goat diets comprised 81% browse, 17% grass and 2% forbs during the wet season; and 82% browse, 15% grass and 3% forbs during the dry season. Whilst the goat diets had higher (P < 0.05) Crude Protein (CP) content than sheep diets during both seasons, the sheep diets were lower in lignin content than goat diets during the wet season. Overall, the goat diets were lower in Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) and Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) than sheep diets during both seasons. There was no difference (P < 0.05) in digestibility between the two animal species. However, it was higher (P < 0.05) during the dry than the wet season. Although sheep and goats are commonly herded together in east African rangelands, they have differing abilities to utilise forages. These differences must be taken into consideration in grazing management decisions, and selected grazing areas should be able to cater for the forage requirements of both species.

Background & objectives: Bancroftian filariasis in Kenya is endemic in coastal districts with anestimated number of 2.5 million people at risk of infection. The main mosquito genera involved intransmission of Wuchereria bancrofti in these areas are Anopheles, Culex and Mansonia. Thestudy was envisaged to compare the infectivity rates of Bancroftian filariasis vectors between thehigh transmission (wet) and the low transmission (dry) seasons.Methods: Mosquitoes were sampled from houses and compounds from two study sites, Gazi andMadunguni, on the Kenyan coast. Day resting indoor collection (DRI), pyrethrum spray catch(PSC) and CDC light traps were used to collect mosquitoes. After identification, female mosquitoeswere dissected to search for W. bancrofti III stage larvae.Results: A total of 1832 female mosquitoes were dissected. Infectivity rates of vectors in Madunguniwere 1.49 and 0.21% in wet and dry seasons respectively, whereas in Gazi, these were 1.69 and0%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the infectivity rates between the two seasonsin both Madunguni and Gazi villages (p <0.05). Anopheles gambiae s.l. was the main vector inboth study sites followed by Culex quinquefasciatus and An. funestus.Conclusion: There was a difference in infectivity rates of Bancroftian filariasis vectors betweenthe wet and dry seasons. The abundance of An. gambiae s.s. during the transmission season couldbe responsible for the increased infectivity rates of vectors in this season.

Seasonal climate prediction over Kenya poses a considerable challenge to the modeling community due to the intricate interactions among the atmospheric, oceanic and land surface processes. This paper assesses the performance of the Regional Spectral Model (RSM) in downscaling the European Centre-Hamburg (ECHam) global model outputs from 1970 to 1999 over Kenya with respect to rainfall and temperature prediction using standard verification techniques. The results show that the accuracy of simulating the annual cycle and spatial distribution of convection and precipitation over the country is still poor. The seasonal rainfall predictability over Kenya by the RSM is better during the October-December season (correlation coefficient [r] of 26%; proportion correct [PC] of 60%; Frequency Bias Index [FBI] of 111%) than in the March-May season (r of 8%; PC of 54%; FBI of 83%), but the prediction for temperature is better in the March-May season (r of 25%; PC of 53%; FBI of 124%) than the OND season (r of-11%; PC of 46%; FBI of 100%). The predictability for rainfall during the cool-dry June-August period is still low (r of-4%; PC of 49%; FBI of 52%) but that for temperature has better skill as compared to the March-May and October-December seasons (r of 49%; PC of 70%; FBI of 90%). There is need to improve the development of convective processes that govern tropical precipitating systems in the region through sensitivity analysis of cloud simulation modules in the RSM applied as well as address rare systems that episodically influence the weather over the country and the region.

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In semi arid Kenya, the occurrence of flush floods and soil erosion on agricultural watersheds is attributed to intense rainstorm events of short duration. Thus when agricultural watersheds have no erosion control structures in place, the generation of direct runoff would increase with cultivation. Of the two components of runoff namely, runoff volume and peak runoff discharge, the consideration of peak runoff discharge rate is critical to the design of effective hydraulic structures for controlling floods and soil erosion. In order to accurately predict a watershed's peak runoff discharge, it is important to select a model that is deterministic and yet simple to use. The model should be able to consider the time distribution of runoff response as influenced by Watershed characteristics. The time to peak runoff discharge is largely influenced by the time of concentration. The time of concentration depends on the shape, size and relief of the watershed. In Iiuni Watershed, the Nash model, a parsimonious deterministic model, was selected to predict peak runoff discharges. This model uses the instantaneous unit hydrograph principle to simulate the direct runoff hydrographs and estimate peak runoff discharge. The Nash model was applied using input parameters derived from the watershed's rainfall-runoff characteristics. The results obtained showed that the Nash model was good in predicting peak runoff discharges. This statistic of comparison, R2 (coefficient of efficiency) for the model was above 70% for the model which is indicative of good model prediction of peak runoff discharge (Nash and Sutcliffe, 1970). From this analysis, the Nash model is recommended for the estimation of peak runoff discharge from un-gauged agricultural watersheds in Kenya.

primary energy extraction patterns by livestock under agropastoralism anci ranching were investigated by the bite count method in semiarid south-eastern Kenya. Sward biomass for optimal energy intake by cattle was derived using intake-digestibility constraint curves and realized livestock productivity from the systems compared. Cattle and sheep, and goats primarily consumed herbaceous and woody plants, respectively. Enteropogon macrostachyus and Panicum maximum, E. macrostachyus and Blepharis integrifolia, and Combretum exalatum and Duosperma kilimandscharica accounted for 33.5% and 9.9%, 16.6% and 10'3%, and 11.7"k and 10.7% ot cattle, sheep and goats total energy intake, respectively. cattle optimised energy intake at 370-6'1ogma of sward biomass and 55.5-64.3% organic matter digestibility. Panicum maximum yielded the highest optimal sward biomass. The energy expenditure of the animals was generally lower under agropastoralism across seasons. During the dry season, more animals (33-50%) lost weight under ranching. Agropastoralism was an efficient system as animals were moved across quality grazing microenvironments that minimised feeding costs and enhanced energy intake. Therefore, mobile grazing strategies, plant diversity and complementary trophic interactions stabilise energy extraction patterns and enhance Iivestock productivity under agropastoralism. However, human activities that affect plant diversity and mobility will undermine sustainable livestock production in such environments.

The seasonal patterns of trichostrongylid nematode infections in Dorper yearlings in a semi-arid area of Kajiado District, Kenya were investigated by analysis faecal egg output, herbage infectivity and post-mortem worm recovery. Rectal faecal samples from 60 animals as well as herbage samples from their grazing fields were collected at three weeks intervals between May 1999 and December 2001. Fecal egg counts and herbage larval counts closely followed the rainfall distribution pattern. Major peaks in egg output occurred between December and August as a result of increased pasture infectivity and minor peaks between September and November following maturation of hypobiotic larvae of Haemonchus. Self-cure occurred in August/ September and November/ December. From September 2000 to July 2001, post-mortem worm counts conducted on 24 yearlings permanently on pastures during the dry and wet seasons showed mixed infections where Trichostrongylus, Haemonchus and Oesophagostomum occurred in 91.7%, Cooperia in 83.3%, Trichuris and Strongyloides in 4.1% of the animals. Adult and immature worms co-existed in proportions that varied with seasons, where Haemonchus survived the dry season mainly as hypobiotic larvae and Trichostrongylus species as an adult worm population. The mean wet season worm counts in both seasons were considered moderate, usually associated with sub-clinical helminthosis and decreased productivity. There is need, therefore, to control such infections in sheep within the study area in order to achieve higher productivity.

This study evaluated the skill of forecasting seasonal rainfall over the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) using Ensemble Model Technique from a cluster of four General Circulation Climate Models (GCMs) from Global Producing Centers (GPCs). The spatial distribution of rainfall anomalies of the observed models output during extreme events showed that the ensemble model was able to simulate El-Niño (1997) and La-Niña (2000) years. The ensemble models did not show good skill in capturing the magnitude of the extreme events. The skill of the ensemble model was higher than that for the member models in terms of its ability to capture the rainfall peaks during the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena. The analysis for the correlation coefficients showed higher values for the ensemble model output than for the individual models over the Equatorial region with the stations in the northern and southern sectors of the GHA comparatively giving low skill. The ensemble modeling technique significantly improved the skill of forecasting, including the sectors where individual models had low skill. In general, the skill of the models was relatively higher during the onset of the ENSO event and became low towards the decaying phase of the ENSO period. Generally, the study has shown that the ensemble seasonal forecasting significantly adds skill to the forecasts especially for October-December (OND) rainy seasons. From the study, ensemble seasonal forecasting significantly adds skill to the forecasts over the region

Background: Influenza A and B viruses cause annual epidemics of respiratory illness. The Influenza surveillance network in Kenya through its sentinel surveillance sites located throughout the country has established that Influenza is a major cause of respiratory illness in Kenya.Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the seasonal trend and circulation dynamics of Influenza viruses in Kenya from January to October, 2013.Methods: Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected from consenting patients meeting the ILI case definition and transported to the laboratory in liquid nitrogen dry shippers. RNA was extracted from the specimen using the QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit. Specimens were tested for influenza A and B viruses by using the Ag Path-ID One Step Real Time Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-PCR) Kit with CDC Human Influenza Virus RT-PCR Detection Panels (CDC, Atlanta, GA). Results: Of 945 specimens tested between January and October, 152 (16.1%) were positive for Influenza viruses. 38.8% tested positive for Influenza A/H3N2, 34.9% were positive for Influenza B while 26.3% were positive for the pdmH1N1 virus. Circulation of Influenza during this period was marked by three distinct peaks. The first peak was seen in the month of February at 22.7% followed by a steady decline to 5% in May. A second peak of 17.9% was seen in June and the highest circulation observed in August with a peak of 28.6%. PdmH1NI and Influenza A/H3N2 viruses co-circulated from January to April and then sharply declined in May. There were low levels of Influenza B in January which gradually increased peaking in June together with pdmH1N1. Influenza B and A/H3N2 co-circulated between July and September with peaks in August and low levels of pdmH1N1 during this period.Conclusion: Influenza viruses co-circulate throughout the year. Continuing surveillance will assist in determining their clinical and virological impact.

Trace metals Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) were analyzed in edible portions of three main finfish species namely Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus and Rastrineobola argentea sampled from various beaches of Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya, in order to determine any seasonal and site variations and the results showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe during the wet season compared to the dry season for all the three species indicating the impact of wash-off into the lake during the rainy periods. The overall mean concentrations of the heavy metals (in μg/g dry weight) in all combined samples ranged from 0.17-0.40 (Cd), 0.47-2.53 (Pb), 2.13-8.74 (Cu), 28.9-409.3 (Zn) and 31.4-208.1 (Fe), respectively. It was found that consumption of Rastrineobola argentea can be a significant source of heavy metals especially Zn, to humans, compared with Lates niloticus and Oreochromis niloticus, if only the muscle parts of the latter two are consumed.

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The role of pastoralist women in conflict resolution and management (study funded by SIDA though IMPACT)

Testicular morphology of long-fingered bats trapped in March and early April (a period of sexual dormancy) was studied using both light and electron microscopy. The interstitial tissue, generally smaller in proportion to the seminiferous tubules, was largely made up of compactly arranged interstitial (Leydig) cells. Physiological cell death (apoptosis) was characterized by the occurrence of dense cytoplasm obscuring most of the subcellular organelles, myelin-like whorls of residual bodies and lipid inclusions in the cytoplasm, and roughly spheroidal nuclei. Normal mitochondria were round in outline. Some of these apoptotic cells were phagocytosed by the interstitial tissue macrophages. In the seminiferous tubules this degenerative process was marked by spermatogonial karyolysis, apoptosis of spermatocytes and extensive accumulation of large lipid droplets in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm. The tubular walls and lumen were completely devoid of spermatids and spermatozoa. These observations suggest that the sexual dormancy in these bats is characterized by a marked apoptosis of testicular micro-structural components hitherto unreported.

The identification of five novel compounds, pseudo-erythromycin A-6,9-hemiketal, 8,9-anhydro-pseudo-erythromycin A-6,9-hemiketal, 8,9-anhydro-pseudo-N-demethylerythromycin A-6,9-hemiketal, 5-O-beta-D-desosaminylerythronolide A and 15-nor-erythromycin C, in mother liquor concentrates of Streptomyces erythraeus is described. The pseudo-erythromycin derivatives are characterized by a 12-membered macrocyclic ring as a result of C13––C11 trans-lactonization. The five compounds have very little antimicrobial activity.

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Almost 30 years after its introduction into the management of ovarian carcinoma, second-look laparotomy remains controversial. Although its supporters agree on its indications, there is a considerable number of conflicting reports on the actual benefits of the procedure. Diagnostic inaccuracy, invasiveness and expense are some of the reasons raised by opponents against its routine performance and their recommendations range from limited selective application to total avoidance. The role of second-look laparotomy is reviewed, with particular reference to developing countries where scarcity of resources must always be balanced against the need to provide the best care possible to the individual cancer patient. A management schedule for ovarian carcinoma, including second-look laparotomy, appropriate under these circumstances is given.

Tungiasis or jigger infestation is a parasitic disease caused by the female sand flea Tunga penetrans. Secondary infection of the lesions caused by this flea is common in endemic communities. This study sought to shed light on the bacterial pathogens causing secondary infections in tungiasis lesions and their susceptibility profiles to commonly prescribed antibiotics. Participants were recruited with the help of Community Health Workers. Swabs were taken from lesions which showed signs of secondary infection. Identification of suspected bacteria colonies was done by colony morphology, Gram staining, and biochemical tests. The Kirby Bauer disc diffusion test was used to determine the drug susceptibility profiles. Out of 37 participants, from whom swabs were collected, specimen were positive in 29 and 8 had no growth. From these, 10 different strains of bacteria were isolated. Two were Gram positive bacteria and they were, Staphylococcus epidermidis (38.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (21.3%). Eight were Gram negative namely Enterobacter cloacae (8.5%), Proteus species (8.5%), Klebsiellla species (6.4%), Aeromonas sobria (4.3%), Citrobacter species (4.3%), Proteus mirabillis(4.3%), Enterobacter amnigenus (2.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.1%). The methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolated were also resistant to clindamycin, kanamycin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, trimethorprim sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. All the Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria isolates were sensitive to gentamicin and norfloxacin drugs. Results from this study confirms the presence of resistant bacteria in tungiasis lesions hence highlighting the significance of secondary infection of the lesions in endemic communties. This therefore suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility testing may be considered to guide in identification of appropriate antibiotics and treatment therapy among tungiasis patients.

Description: This book describes four types of indigenous water retention structures used in East Africa. These structures are the Berkad tank, the Charco dam, sand wiers and hillside water retention ditches.

Description: This book describes four types of indigenous water retention structures used in East Africa. These structures are the Berkad tank, the Charco dam, sand wiers and hillside water retention ditches.

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Our research study provides a glimpse into difficulties high school chemistry teachers in Thailand and
Kenya encounter in classroom practice when addressing issues of learning atomic structure and the periodic
table. In this paper, we focus on chemistry teachers’ reflections using surveys with questionnaires and interviews
to learn about the difficulties they encounter in teaching basic concepts related to atomic structure and the
periodic table in chemistry. We do not believe that teachers in Thailand and Kenya are different from those in
the global community, but little data exists to support this claim especially with regard to rural areas. Our data
is being used to design and create curriculum materials relevant to the teachers’ and students’ needs and we are
planning to investigate its usefulness.
Keywords: atomic structure, chemistry, Kenya, periodic table, teachers’ perspectives, Thailand

Both secretin, and the single substance which possesses both cholecystokinin and pancreozymin activity, have been shown to inhibit gastric acid secretory responses. Since potentiation may occur between pairs of stimulants of gastric secretion, the effects of combining secretin and cholecystokinin/pancreozymin have been studied in Heidenhain pouches stimulated by continuous intravenous pentagastrin. Evidence suggesting potentiation between these two inhibitor agents is presented

No abstract available.

In this paper we explore the possibilities of having an algorithm that can protect Zigbee wireless sensor networks from intrusion; this is done from the Internet of Things paradigm. This algorithm is then realised as part of an intrusion detection system for Zigbee sensors used in wireless networks. The paper describes the algorithm used, the programming process, and the architecture of the system developed as well as the results achieved.

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This article reveals that the concept of education as a process of growth is a difficult one. Philosophers are, therefore, justified in being weary when pondering over its meaning, both in theory and practice. By way of conclusion, the article appreciates the complexities inherent in the growth theory of education, summarizing its major strength and weaknesses. Then it cautions educational planners and practitioners to be weary when, and if, they translate the theory into practice, so that they utilize the strengths inherent in the theory whilst paying attention to the dangers of its inherent weaknesses.

The chapter examines the theory that security of tenure leads to higher yields through its effects on credit, inputs, and land improvements. A survey of 406 households in the densely populated Nyeri and Kakanega districts of Kenya was conducted during 1988. The chapter provides an overview of the prevailing land tenure systems in Kenya; describes the patterns of land holdings, modes of acquisition, and land transactions in the study area; examines security of tenure and its relationship to credit, investment in land improvement and land productivity; and examines policy implications. The hypothesis that security of tenure leads to higher yields through its effect on credit, inputs and land improvements was not supported by the evidence. This situation is probably explained by the limited use of land titles in obtaining formal credit: farmers are reluctant to apply for credit because they lack confidence in their ability to repay the loans and fear losing their land.

The traditional lifestyle of nomadic pastoralists is vanishing rapidly, because of human population growth which often leads to land scarcity or political pressure on pastoralists to settle. The sedentarisation of the Bahima pastoralists in Western Uganda started in the 1940s and is still going on. In this study former nomadic cattle keepers, who have settled with their families, were interviewed in order to document the decision to settle and the subsequent changes in the lifestyle of these people. All interviewees expressed their satisfaction with their sedentary life. Land scarcity, access to education, better availability of water and the possibility of crop production were given as factors for settlement. The decisions were influenced by Christian missionaries, the government and friends.

The current population pressure, inappropriate cultivation practices, forest removal and high grazing intensities on forests, wetlands, rangelands and marginal agricultural lands leads to unwanted sediment and stream flow changes that mainly impacts the downstream human and natural communities. Forests and bush are cleared, and wetlands are encroached to create space for human settlement, roads construction and to satisfy wood fuel energy demands. Similarly, pastoral areas are subjected to growing human and livestock populations, leading to land degradation, soil erosion and to an increase in the load of non-point pollutants. Landscape disturbance over many decades, and the resulting increase in soil erosion and sedimentation is the dominant cause of the ongoing eutrophication in many of the lakes in eastern Africa. Increased sedimentation in the rivers and lakes has many impacts. For example, it has altered some aquatic habitats and communities, contributed to increasing eutrophication, abetted the proliferation of algal blooms and water hyacinth reduced the amount of dissolved oxygen, etc. This paper outlines some of the problems created by increased sedimentation within the East African Great Lakes basin, and provides some possible solutions to the mitigation of sediment flux through integrated sediment management approaches.

Keywords: deforestation; erosion; agriculture; eutrophication; ecosystem change; conservation

Total suspended sediments and discharge were studied on the river mouths and sewage drain that. empty into Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Total suspended sediment loading into Lake Nakuru is a function of the concentration of total suspended solids and discharge at each mouth. The study was conducted at the mouths of rivers Njoro, Makalia, Nderit, Baharini springbrook and Sewage drain. In situ measurements of discharge were done, at each mouth, and 500ml water samples were taken and determination of total suspended solids done in the laboratory. Historical data was also used to provide typical discharge and total suspended solids values for each month. Loading was then calculated for each river mouth and the sewage drain. Although River Nderit had the highest concentration of total suspended solids, than rivers Njoro and Makalia, it delivered a lower amount of total suspended solids due to its lower discharge volume. River Njoro was found to deliver the most loads of total suspended solids (70%) despite having a lower concentration of total suspended solids followed by Makalia (21%), Nderit (4%), Sewage drain (4%) and Baharini (1%)in that order. Baharini is fed by a number of clean water springs emanating from the Lake Nakuru National Park which is a protected area. All the other rivers, especially Njoro and Makalia drain rural and urban watersheds with intensively cultivated easily eroded landscapes. This study shows that rivers emanating from outside protected areas under agriculture and urbanization contribute the highest to lake sediment loading and management of sedimentation of Lake Nakuru should focus mainly on soil management in the landscape.

Key words: discharge; loading, total suspended solids

This paper examines the land use patterns in the upper Tana river basin, Kenya, and the resultant erosion that is responsible for the continued loss of storage capacity of the Masinga reservoir. The main Tana branch of the Masinga reservoir contributes about 85% of the total sediment inflow to the reservoir. The high production rates of sediment are linked to the rivers that feed this branch passing through intensively cultivated slopes of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. Lack of adequate ground cover and the steep slopes often being cultivated without soil conservation measures result in increased surface runoff and soil loss. The need for effective soil conservation in the catchment area is stressed to prevent the expected lifespan of the reservoir form being reduced dramatically.

This paper examines the land use patterns in the upper Tana river basin, Kenya, and the resultant erosion that is responsible for the continued loss of storage capacity of the Masinga reservoir. The main Tana branch of the Masinga reservoir contributes about 85% of the total sediment inflow to the reservoir. The high production rates of sediment are linked to the rivers that feed this branch passing through intensively cultivated slopes of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. Lack of adequate ground cover and the steep slopes often being cultivated without soil conservation measures result in increased surface runoff and soil loss. The need for effective soil conservation in the catchment area is stressed to prevent the expected lifespan of the reservoir form being reduced dramatically.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Hepatocellular carcinoma results when cancerous cells are localized in the liver. It is distributed globally with high prevalence in sub-Saharan African, southern Asia, China and Japan. Diagnosis is experimental and in many cases inaccurate due to unreliability of markers. Prognosis is poor and the cost of treatment prohibitive. Conventional radiation and chemotherapy lead to loss of hair, fertility and general weakening of the body`s immune system increasing a patient`s risk to infection. These observations underscore the need for improved, or additional methods of cancer diagnosis and management. We investigated the effect of polysaccharide rich Pleurotus pulmonarius fruit body extracts on progression of chemically induced hepatocellular carcinoma in CBA mice. Addition of Pleurotus pulmonarius extracts in diet delayed progression of carcinogenesis suggesting   that these extracts may be useful as   adjuvants to conventional cancer therapies.   Key words: carcinogenesis; mice; mushroom extracts; pleurotus pulmunarius   Corresponding author: Ms Carolyne Wasonga, Department of Biochemistry, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi,  Kenya. E-mail: carox27@yahoo.ca     Charles O.A. Omwandho, Susanne E. Gruessner, John Falconer, Hans-R Tinneberg, Timothy K. Roberts. IS OVINE PLACENTAL IGG TOXIC TO HUMAN PERIPHERAL BLOOD NATURAL KILLER CELLS?

Novartis initiated a Fellows program for African academic scientists in 2010 in partnership with Seeding Labs, providing a 9 week-long industrial immersion experience at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge Massachusetts. Through their scientific projects and activities, the Fellows explored new laboratory techniques and improved their scientific communication and grant writing skills. A primary aim of the program was to influence the Fellows’ time in the NIBR laboratories into promoting research of potential utility to their scientific and teaching activities on returning home to their academic institutions, thus building strength in scientific capacity in Africa. As chemistry is an essential discipline in the drug-discovery process, it has been an area of focus for several visiting African Fellows and their NIBR scientific mentors. In particular, computational chemistry has minimal laboratory requirements and is ideally suited as an area for scientific capacity building in Africa. In addition, extending drug-discovery capabilities in African laboratories to assist natural products research is of interest, particularly concerning development of treatments for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and, of recent concern, the West African Ebola outbreak. An ACS International Activities Committee Global Innovation Grant, granted in 2012 added financial momentum to this capacity building project, spurring our efforts in capturing a Canadian Grand Challenges award and the pursuit of funding from IUPAC. In 2014, this initiative reached two significant milestones, creation of its first job, a computational chemistry academic faculty position in Kenya, and the launch of an in-silico database of Kenyan natural products named Mitishamba.

Semi-arid rangelands in Kenya are an important source of forage for both domestic and wild animals. However, indigenous perennial grasses notably Cenchrus ciliaris (African foxtail grass), Eragrostis superba (Maasai love grass) and Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye grass) are disappearing at an alarming rate. Efforts to re-introduce them through restoration programs have often yielded little success. This can partly be attributed to failure of topsoil to capture and store scarce water to meet germination and plant growth requirements. A study was undertaken in the semi-arid environment of eastern Kenya to determine the effects of land treatment on morphometric characteristics of E. superba, C. ciliaris and E. macrostachyus. Seed viability of the grasses was estimated by germination tests. Land treatments involved soil ripping using a tractor and hand-clearing. Thirty-five plants were randomly selected per sub-plot and tagged for sampling. Morphometric characteristics of the grass species were measured weekly. Aboveground biomass was estimated by harvesting standing biomass three months after establishment. Seed viability tests showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the three grass species. This was attributed to intrinsic properties of the grass seeds such as dormancy and tegumental hardness. Seedling survival, foliage cover, plant height, leaf and tiller numbers, and aboveground biomass were significantly higher in ripped plots than hand-cleared plots. It was concluded that soil disturbance influences plant morphometric charact

Semi-arid rangelands in Kenya are an important source of forage for both domestic and wild animals.
However, indigenous perennial grasses notably Cenchrus ciliaris (African foxtail grass), Eragrostis
superba (Maasai love grass) and Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye grass) are disappearing at an
alarming rate. Efforts to re-introduce them through restoration programs have often yielded little
success. This can partly be attributed to failure of topsoil to capture and store scarce water to meet
germination and plant growth requirements. A study was undertaken in the semi-arid environment of
eastern Kenya to determine the effects of land treatment on morphometric characteristics of E. superba, C. ciliaris and E. macrostachyus. Seed viability of the grasses was estimated by germination tests. Land treatments involved soil ripping using a tractor and hand-clearing. Thirty-five plants were randomly selected per sub-plot and tagged for sampling. Morphometric characteristics of the grass species were measured weekly. Aboveground biomass was estimated by harvesting standing biomass three months after establishment. Seed viability tests showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the three grass species. This was attributed to intrinsic properties of the grass seeds such as dormancy and tegumental hardness. Seedling survival, foliage cover, plant height, leaf and tiller numbers, and aboveground biomass were significantly higher in ripped plots than hand-cleared plots. It was concluded that soil disturbance influences plant morphometric characteristics and plays an important role in the success rate of restoration attempts in semi-arid rangelands.

Key words: Perennial grasses, morphometric characteristics, hand-clearing, reseeding, ripping, semi-arid
rangelands.

The study was carried out between 1986 and 1988 to investigate the relationships between flowering habit, plant phenotypic appearance, seedling vigour and grain yielding ability while breeding early maturing maize. Four rainfed and four irrigated trials were conducted in a semi-arid area of eastern Kenya with two growing seasons per year, the long and the short rains. In the first group of trials, comprising Experiment 1, relationships between the various traits of interest were studied within cultivars that have been developed by the programme at Katumani, a breeding centre located in the area of interest. In Experiment 2, Sl selection was practiced on the same materials looking for early and for late flowering plants within a population of 2,000 plants per cultivar. Results from both experiments showed similar relative changes, although of lesser magnitude in Experiment 2. Seedling vigour was positively correlated with grain yield and was not correlated with flowering time and, therefore, maturity. Unlike grain yield, seedling vigour interacted little with the environment of growth. Experimental precision seemed to increase with additional water applied as irrigation. It was concluded that current cultivars have scope to be improved using good plant type and seedling vigour as the major selection criteria for yield. It was also concluded that selection could be aided by irrigating some of the trials to increase the environmental range covered, especially during the long rains season which was evidently the less reliable.

Serum acid phosphatase was measured in patients with enlarged benign and malignant prostate before and after rectal examination. Amongst the patients with benign glands, rectal examination did not produce any significant false elevation of the enzyme. Rectal examination, however, caused a rise in the enzyme level in a few untreated cancer patients and in cancer patients who has become refractory to hormonal therapy. This rise would help rather than mislead in the diagnosis of malignant prostate and also in the identifying treated patients who had become refractory to treatment. Thus, when serum acid phosphatase is properly determined, elevated levels should always arouse suspicion of malignant prostate or other lesions associated with high enzyme level even is such determination was preceded by rectal examination. There appears to be no merit in the teaching that the determination of serum acid phosphatase should be delayed after rectal examination.

Serum acid phosphatase was measured in patients with enlarged benign and malignant prostate before and after rectal examination. Amongst the patients with benign glands, rectal examination did not produce any significant false elevation of the enzyme. Rectal examination, however, caused a rise in the enzyme level in a few untreated cancer patients and in cancer patients who has become refractory to hormonal therapy. This rise would help rather than mislead in the diagnosis of malignant prostate and also in the identifying treated patients who had become refractory to treatment. Thus, when serum acid phosphatase is properly determined, elevated levels should always arouse suspicion of malignant prostate or other lesions associated with high enzyme level even is such determination was preceded by rectal examination. There appears to be no merit in the teaching that the determination of serum acid phosphatase should be delayed after rectal examination.

Twenty variceal banding sessions were performed in eight patients between February 1995 and September 1996. A total of 69 rings were used to band the varices and at each session between two to six rings were used. Two of the eight had active bleeding and both underwent variceal banding to successfully arrest their bleeding as inpatients. Sixteen other variceal banding sessions were performed on an outpatient basis to obliterate their varices. Four of the eight patients had had sclerotherapy before and varices were still present. No acute or long term complications were noted. In one patient, variceal banding could not be performed as he developed stridor upon placement of the overtube. All the patients had advanced varices (Grade III or IV) and extended for more than 15 cms in the oesophagus. Endoscopic variceal obliteration remains the treatment of choice for patients with portal hypertension with variceal bleeding. Variceal banding is associated with a superior outcome when compared with sclerotherapy; the variceal kill time is shorter, infective complications less, rebleeding occurs less commonly and transfusion requirements are lower.

Twenty variceal banding sessions were performed in eight patients between February 1995 and September 1996. A total of 69 rings were used to band the varices and at each session between two to six rings were used. Two of the eight had active bleeding and both underwent variceal banding to successfully arrest their bleeding as inpatients. Sixteen other variceal banding sessions were performed on an outpatient basis to obliterate their varices. Four of the eight patients had had sclerotherapy before and varices were still present. No acute or long term complications were noted. In one patient, variceal banding could not be performed as he developed stridor upon placement of the overtube. All the patients had advanced varices (Grade III or IV) and extended for more than 15 cms in the oesophagus. Endoscopic variceal obliteration remains the treatment of choice for patients with portal hypertension with variceal bleeding. Variceal banding is associated with a superior outcome when compared with sclerotherapy; the variceal kill time is shorter, infective complications less, rebleeding occurs less commonly and transfusion requirements are lower.

Twenty variceal banding sessions were performed in eight patients between February 1995 and September 1996. A total of 69 rings were used to band the varices and at each session between two to six rings were used. Two of the eight had active bleeding and both underwent variceal banding to successfully arrest their bleeding as inpatients. Sixteen other variceal banding sessions were performed on an outpatient basis to obliterate their varices. Four of the eight patients had had sclerotherapy before and varices were still present. No acute or long term complications were noted. In one patient, variceal banding could not be performed as he developed stridor upon placement of the overtube. All the patients had advanced varices (Grade III or IV) and extended for more than 15 cms in the oesophagus. Endoscopic variceal obliteration remains the treatment of choice for patients with portal hypertension with variceal bleeding. Variceal banding is associated with a superior outcome when compared with sclerotherapy; the variceal kill time is shorter, infective complications less, rebleeding occurs less commonly and transfusion requirements are lower.

The past and the present understanding of the deep lithospheric structures beneath the Kenyan Rift Valley is reviewed and the results of the long-range explosion seismic experiment are discussed. A sill like intrusive body exists in the lower crust and there is only moderate crustal thinning beneath the central sector. No evidence has been established for the 'axial intrusion' to shallow depths.

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The East African Rift System (EARS), and by extension the Davie Ridge, which is considered as the seaward extension of eastern branch (Kenya Rift Valley) of the East African Rift Valley (Mougenot et al., 1986), are characterized by divergence whose maximum rate is estimated to be about 7 mm/year (Chase, 1978). This rate of divergence is somewhat much slower than that found at most active mid-ocean ridges, or even the convergence of India-Burma plates or that between the Australian-Sunda plates (Stein and Okal, 2006). Despite this slow rate of divergence, the East African Rift Valley and the Davie Ridge are characterized by frequent seismicity with large and shallow earthquakes occurring occasionally.

Seismic reflection, gravity and magnetic data from offshore East Africa allow the Davie Fracture Zone to be traced from 11°S to its intersection with the Kenyan coast at 2°S, constraining the relative motion of Madagascar and Africa (Coffin and Rabinowitz, 1987). Further, numerous faults and fractures probably associated with the Davie fracture have been mapped using recent gravity and magnetic data between latitudes 2o21'S and 3o03'S and longitudes 40o08'E and 40o45'E by Gippsland Offshore Petroleum Limited (2009). Seasat-derived free air gravity anomalies and slope/rise positive magnetic anomalies observed in shipboard data help to locate the continent-ocean boundaries (COB) off the shore of East Africa and Madagascar.
Furthermore, the East African Rift System, and precisely the Kenya Rift Valley is characterized by ~3 km thick sediments and normal faulting mechanism. Deformation has been active along the Kenya Rift valley as evidenced by high seismic activity. Surface deformation studies from SAR Interferometry in the southern sector of the Kenya rift valley in Magadi show that it is characterized by 14 cm of deformation over 10 km long stretches (Kuria et al., in press). If the Davie ridge is an extension of the East African Rift Valley, we cannot rule out the occurrence of tsunami generating earthquakes, which are bound to have devastating consequences on the eastern coast of Africa.

Earthquakes as deep as 40 km have been recorded below Davie Ridge (Grimison and Chen, 1988). However, evaluation of recent seismic data shows that magnitude 6.0 – 7.2 earthquakes at relatively shallow depths of 10 - 30 km are a common occurrence along the Kenya Rift Valley and the Davie Ridge in the Mozambique channel. The focal mechanism of these earthquakes supports what has previously been proposed that the Davie Ridge is a southward extension of the eastern arm of the East African Rift System. The earthquake focal mechanism indicates that the Davie ridge is characterized by predominantly normal faulting with occasional obligue faulting. Consequently, Kenya and generally the East African coast are prone to both seismic hazards on land as well as tsunami generating earthquakes.
Chapter 19 begins with general overview of the seismicity in Kenya from 1900s’ to present. Seismcity in Kenya up to 1963 is mainly based on macroseismic data while that from 1963 to present is based on data from instrumental recordings. In the past, a number of microseismic and seismicity studies in Kenya have previously been undertaken and the results from these studies are rather disjointed. In this chapter, we have made an attempt to merge all the existing results into one database from which the general seismicity, and subsequently seismic hazard in Kenya has been evaluated. The main goal of this chapter is to bring into focus the area(s) in Kenya more prone to seismic hazards either due to ground shaking occasioned by an earthquake or due to tsunami as a result of earthquakes occurring along the Davie ridge.

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In August 1985 the crustal structure underlying the southern part of the Kenya Rift Valley was investigated by long-range explosion seismology. the experiment (KRISP 85) consisted of two seismic lines in the central sector of the rift, one along the axis and the other across it. Interpretation of the data, including time-term analysis and ray tracing has shown that the thickness of rift infill varies from about 6km below Lake Naivasha to about 2 and 1.5km below Lake Magadi and Lake Bogoria respectively. the underlying material has a P-wave velocity of 6.05 ± 0.03 km s-1 which suggests that the rift is underlain by Precambrian metamorphic basement. A localized high-velocity zone identified to the east of Nakuru may be due to basic intrusive material. the P-wave velocity increases discontinuously to 6.45 ± 0.2 km s-1 at a depth of 12.5 ± 1.0 km below sea level. This depth is similar to that inferred for the brittle-ductile transition zone from a study of local seismicity in the Lake Bogoria region. A high P-wave velocity layer (7.1 ± 0.2 km s-1) occurs at 22 ± 2 km depth below sea level which might be associated with a sill-like basic intrusion in the lower crust. an upper mantle velocity of 7.5 ± 0.2 km s-1 (unreversed) is reached at a depth of 34.0 ± 2.0 km below sea level. This implies that only moderate crustal thinning has occurred beneath the central sector of the rift. No evidence was obtained for the existence of a continuous‘axial intrusion’ reaching to shallow levels below the rift and associated with crustal separation as suggested by previous studies.

In February l994, the Kenya Rift International Seismic Project carried out two wide-angle reflection and refraction seismic profiles between Lake Victoria and Mombasa across southern Kenya. Our investigation of the data has revealed evidence for the presence of two upper mantle reflectors beneath southwestem Kenya, sometimes at short range, from seven shotpoints. Two-dimensional forward modelling of these reflectors using a pre-existing two-dimensional velocity—depth model for the crust [Birt, C.S., Maguire, P.H.K., Khan, M.A., Thybo, H., Keller, G.R., Patel, J., l997. The influence of pre-existing structures on the evolution of the Southern Kenya Rift Valley — evidence from seismic and gravity studies.
Tectonophysics 278, 211—242], has shown them to lie at depths of approximately 51 and 63 km. The upper reflector, denoted d1, shallows by about 5-10 km in the area beneath Lake Magadi, situated in the rift itself. Correlations for the deeper reflector, denoted d2, are sparse and more dificult to determine, so it was not possible to define any shallowing corresponding to the surface expression of the rift. Only limited control exists over the upper mantle velocities used in the modelling. Immediately beneath the Moho we use a value of Pn calculated from the crustal model, and constraints from previous refraction, teleseismic and gravity studies, to determine the velocity at depth. At the d2 reflector a reasonable velocity contrast was introduced to produce a reflector for modelling purposes. Beneath the d1 reflector the velocity decreases to the average value over 3 km. Beneath the rift the velocity also rises across d1 and again, decreases to the average value over the next 3 km. At the d2 reflector a similar model is used. This model accounts for the presence of the mantle reflectors seen in the data by using layers of thin higher velocity in a lower background velocity. Due to the uncertainty in the velocities the absolute position of both dl and d; could vary, but the relative upwelling beneath the rift is reasonably well constrained and data from four different shotpoints which indicate the shallowing show good agreement. A significant result of this study is that the continuity of the d, reflector indicates that the sub-Moho lithosphere has not been substantially disrupted by mantle upwelling, even though probably thinned and stretched.
Keywords: rifting; upper mantle; Kenya; wide-angle reflections; tectonics; P-wave velocities

Kenya has had a seismic station since 1963 as part of the World Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN). In 1990, the University of Nairobi in collaboration with GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) started to build up a local seismological network, the Kenya National Seismic Network (KNSN), which operated for about ten years between 1993-2002. This, however, experienced a myriad of problems ranging from equipment breakdown, vandalism and lack of spares. Kenya is seismically active since the Kenya rift valley traverses through the country from north to south bisecting the country into eastern and western regions. In the central part, the Kenya rift branches to form the NE-SW trending Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift. The Kenya rift valley and the Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift are the most seismically active where earthquakes of local magnitude (Ml) in the order of 2.0 – 5.0 occur. Furthermore, historical records show that earthquakes of magnitudes of the order of Ml  6.0 have occurred in Kenya. Such large magnitude earthquakes include the January 6, 1928 Subukia earthquake (Ml 7.1) and an aftershock (Ml 6.2) four days later, as well as the 1913 Turkana region earthquake (Ml 6.2). Since early 1970’s, numerous seismic investigations have been undertaken in Kenya in order to understand the formation and structure of the Kenyan part of the East African rift valley. Earthquake data from these studies is, however, rather disorganized and individual datasets, including that acquired during the period 1993-2002, cannot furnish us with comprehensive information on the seismicity of Kenya for the past ~100 years. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to review the seismicity in Kenya for the period 1906-2010 by utilizing data and results from different sources. The general seismicity of Kenya has been evaluated using historical data, data recorded by local seismic networks, the United States Geological Survey catalogue as well as earthquake data from the numerous seismic investigations by different individuals and research groups. On the basis of earthquake data from these sources, the entire N-S trending Kenya rift valley and the NE-SW trending Nyanza (Kavirondo) rift are characterized by a high rate of seismicity, and the USGS network has been effective in detecting local M > 3.0 earthquakes. A peculiar trend is exhibited by earthquakes of Ml  5.1 in that these occur along the N-S and NE-SW trending Kenya rift valley and the Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift zone respectively. Earthquake data from the various sources for the period 1906-2010 is complete for Ml  4.4 earthquakes with a b-value of 0.79 which is characteristic of tectonic active regions like rifts. There is need to revive and extend the KNSN for a greater coverage and effective seismic monitoring in Kenya.

Kenya has had a seismic station since 1963 as part of the World Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN). In 1990, the University of Nairobi in collaboration with GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) started to build up a local seismological network, the Kenya National Seismic Network (KNSN), which operated for about ten years between 1993–2002. This, however, experienced a myriad of problems ranging from equipment breakdown, vandalism and lack of spares. Kenya is seismically active since the Kenya rift valley traverses through the country from north to south bisecting the country into eastern and western regions. In the central part, the Kenya rift branches to form the NW-SE trending Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift. The Kenya rift valley and the Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift are the most seismically active where earthquakes of local magnitude (Ml) in the order of ⩽2.0–5.0 occur. Furthermore, historical records show that earthquakes of magnitudes of the order of Ml ⩾ 6.0 have occurred in Kenya. Such large magnitude earthquakes include the January 6, 1928 Subukia earthquake (Ml 7.1) and an aftershock (Ml 6.2) four days later, as well as the 1913 Turkana region earthquake (Ml 6.2). Since early 1970’s, numerous seismic investigations have been undertaken in Kenya in order to understand the formation and structure of the Kenyan part of the East African rift valley. Earthquake data from these studies is, however, rather disorganized and individual datasets, including that acquired during the period 1993–2002, cannot furnish us with comprehensive information on the seismicity of Kenya for the past ∼100 years. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to review the seismicity in Kenya for the period 1906–2010 by utilizing data and results from different sources. The general seismicity of Kenya has been evaluated using historical data, data recorded by local seismic networks, the United States Geological Survey catalogue as well as earthquake data from the numerous seismic investigations by different individuals and research groups. On the basis of earthquake data from these sources, the entire N–S trending Kenya rift valley and the NW-SE trending Nyanza (Kavirondo) rift are characterized by a high rate of seismicity, and the USGS network has been effective in detecting local M > 3.0 earthquakes. A peculiar trend is exhibited by earthquakes of Ml ⩾ 5.1 in that these occur along the N-S and NW-SE trending Kenya rift valley and the Kavirondo (Nyanza) rift zone respectively. Earthquake data from the various sources for the period 1906–2010 is complete for Ml ⩾ 4.4 earthquakes with a b-value of 0.79 which is characteristic of tectonic active regions like rifts. There is need to revive and extend the KNSN for a greater coverage and effective seismic monitoring in Kenya.

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Forty females, age 14 to 35 years (mean 28.6 years) with chronic renal failure (CRF) were included in the study. Their menstrual patterns were noted. The function of their hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis was assessed by the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin (PrL), estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) at different phases of the menstrual cycle in patients who continued to have normal menses (Group 1) and at weekly intervals for six weeks in patients with menstrual disturbances (Group II). The mean hormone levels during the initial contact Luteal phase in group I were FSH 12.0 IU/L (N, 1.0-3.0 IU/L), LH 1.8IU/L (N 1.5-101U/L), PrL 652mIU/L (N, 100-600 mIU/L) mE2 160 pmol/L (N 400-1400 pmol/L) and P5 nmol/L (N 14-60 nmol/L) for group I. Corresponding values for group II were 1.2, 10.3, 250, 600 and 3.0 in relevant units. All patients (fourteen) with end stage renal disease (ESRD) had amenorrhoae. On the other hand, most patients with stable CRF (22/26) had normal menses. Following initiation of therapy (conservative or dialytic), there was no significant alteration in the hormonal profile or menstrual pattern. We conclude that other factors apart from the hormonal imbalances, may be responsible for the menstrual disturbances noted in patients with CRF.

This was a cross sectional descriptive study to discuss the median age of menopause in a rural area of Western Kenya. The broad objective of the study was to describe the demographic and biophysical characteristics of the study population and determine the age of menopause. A review of the current and medieval records shows average age of menopause has remained relatively constant at 50 years in contrast to the receeding age of menarche. A total of 1078 women aged between 40-60 years were interviewed. The majority (98.8%) were from one ethnic group, the Luhya. Of the 1078 women, 880 (81.4%) were married and 198 (18.6%) were single. The average number of children per woman was 7.74. Most of the women (75.1%) had attained primary school education. Their husbands were unskilled workers in 30.1% of the cases. The mean weight and height of the women was 60.74 kg and 161.1 cm respectively. Using methods of probit analysis, the median and modal age of menopause was found to be 48.28 years in this group of western Kenya women. If generalised for the whole country, these results suggest that an average Kenyan woman lives for over ten years beyond menopause. It is recommended that more attention should be given to the special health problems of postmenopausal population. PIP: This study describes the demographic and biophysical characteristics of rural menopausal women in Western Kenya. Menopause occurs as the gradual unresponsiveness of the human ovary to gonadotropins, premature ovarian failure at under 40 years, and menopause following surgical procedures of the uterus and ovaries. A 3-phase process starts with low serum estradiol and progesterone, followed by a rise in follicle stimulating hormone, and a rise in luteinizing hormone. Clinical symptoms include vasomotor ones, genitourinary ones, osteoporosis and increased incidence of bone fractures, increased incidence of thromboembolic and ischemic heart disease, and psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression, and memory loss. The age of menopause varies with socioeconomic conditions, race, parity, height, weight, skinfold thickness, lifestyle, and education. Data were obtained for this study from a sample of 1078 women from 7 sublocations in Vihiga division, Kenya. Women were aged 40-60 years. The most populous ethnic group was the Luhya. 81.6% were married, 15.6% were widowed, and 0.7% were divorced. 4 women had never been married. 75.1% had a primary school education; 18.6% had not received any formal education. 30.1% had husbands who were unskilled workers, 28.8% had husbands who were farmers, and 20.6% had husbands who were skilled workers. 1.3% had no children, and 1 woman had 17 children. The average number of children was 7.74. 9 of the nulliparous women were menopausal. The mean height was 161.1 cm. The median age at menopause was 48.28 years. Almost all women were menopausal by 55 years. The total fertility period averaged 35 years. Female life expectancy was 59 years

OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, many family planning programmes do not encourage advance provision of oral contraceptives to clients who must wait until menses to initiate pill use. Since some resistance to advance provision of pills is due to provider fears that the practice may be harmful, we conducted a study in Kenya in 1997 to compare pill-taking outcomes between 20 "advance provision" clients and 280 "standard" clients. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Six family planning clinics in Central and Western Kenya. SUBJECTS: Women presenting as new clients at MOH family planning clinics. INTERVENTIONS: Researchers used prospective tracking to compare indicators of pill-taking success between non-menstruating clients given pills to carry home for later use and menstruating clients who began pill use immediately. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pill-taking outcomes such as side effects, compliance, knowledge, satisfaction, and a continuation proxy. RESULTS: Among clients returning for re-supply, those receiving advance provision of pills did no worse than, and often had superior outcomes to, their counterparts who started taking pills immediately after the clinic visit. CONCLUSIONS: Advance provision of pills, already practiced worldwide, is safe and feasible. Explicit mention should be made of advance provision of pills in national family planning guidance documents and training curricula in Kenya and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

This was a cross sectional descriptive study to discuss the median age of menopause in a rural area of Western Kenya. The broad objective of the study was to describe the demographic and biophysical characteristics of the study population and determine the age of menopause. A review of the current and medieval records shows average age of menopause has remained relatively constant at 50 years in contrast to the receeding age of menarche. A total of 1078 women aged between 40-60 years were interviewed. The majority (98.8%) were from one ethnic group, the Luhya. Of the 1078 women, 880 (81.4%) were married and 198 (18.6%) were single. The average number of children per woman was 7.74. Most of the women (75.1%) had attained primary school education. Their husbands were unskilled workers in 30.1% of the cases. The mean weight and height of the women was 60.74 kg and 161.1 cm respectively. Using methods of probit analysis, the median and modal age of menopause was found to be 48.28 years in this group of western Kenya women. If generalised for the whole country, these results suggest that an average Kenyan woman lives for over ten years beyond menopause. It is recommended that more attention should be given to the special health problems of postmenopausal population. PIP: This study describes the demographic and biophysical characteristics of rural menopausal women in Western Kenya. Menopause occurs as the gradual unresponsiveness of the human ovary to gonadotropins, premature ovarian failure at under 40 years, and menopause following surgical procedures of the uterus and ovaries. A 3-phase process starts with low serum estradiol and progesterone, followed by a rise in follicle stimulating hormone, and a rise in luteinizing hormone. Clinical symptoms include vasomotor ones, genitourinary ones, osteoporosis and increased incidence of bone fractures, increased incidence of thromboembolic and ischemic heart disease, and psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression, and memory loss. The age of menopause varies with socioeconomic conditions, race, parity, height, weight, skinfold thickness, lifestyle, and education. Data were obtained for this study from a sample of 1078 women from 7 sublocations in Vihiga division, Kenya. Women were aged 40-60 years. The most populous ethnic group was the Luhya. 81.6% were married, 15.6% were widowed, and 0.7% were divorced. 4 women had never been married. 75.1% had a primary school education; 18.6% had not received any formal education. 30.1% had husbands who were unskilled workers, 28.8% had husbands who were farmers, and 20.6% had husbands who were skilled workers. 1.3% had no children, and 1 woman had 17 children. The average number of children was 7.74. 9 of the nulliparous women were menopausal. The mean height was 161.1 cm. The median age at menopause was 48.28 years. Almost all women were menopausal by 55 years. The total fertility period averaged 35 years. Female life expectancy was 59 years

OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, many family planning programmes do not encourage advance provision of oral contraceptives to clients who must wait until menses to initiate pill use. Since some resistance to advance provision of pills is due to provider fears that the practice may be harmful, we conducted a study in Kenya in 1997 to compare pill-taking outcomes between 20 "advance provision" clients and 280 "standard" clients. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Six family planning clinics in Central and Western Kenya. SUBJECTS: Women presenting as new clients at MOH family planning clinics. INTERVENTIONS: Researchers used prospective tracking to compare indicators of pill-taking success between non-menstruating clients given pills to carry home for later use and menstruating clients who began pill use immediately. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pill-taking outcomes such as side effects, compliance, knowledge, satisfaction, and a continuation proxy. RESULTS: Among clients returning for re-supply, those receiving advance provision of pills did no worse than, and often had superior outcomes to, their counterparts who started taking pills immediately after the clinic visit. CONCLUSIONS: Advance provision of pills, already practiced worldwide, is safe and feasible. Explicit mention should be made of advance provision of pills in national family planning guidance documents and training curricula in Kenya and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Normal postpartum women, who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery of one full-term male infant, free of congenital abnormalities and other diseases, were recruited for this study. Thirteen women received 150 mg depot-medroxy-progesterone acetate (DMPA), intramuscularly on days 42 + 1 and 126 + 1 postpartum. Infants of nine mothers, who did not receive DMPA, served as controls. Blood samples were collected from treated mothers on days 44, 47, 74, 124, 128, and 130 postpartum for medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) measurements. Four-hour urine collections were obtained from all 22 infants in the morning on days 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 53, 60, 67, 74, 88, 102, 116, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, and 137. Urinary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), unconjugated testosterone, and unconjugated cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay, and serum MPA and urinary MPA metabolites were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). No MPA metabolites could be detected in the urine of the infants from the DMPA-receiving mothers. Hormonal profiles in the urine samples were not suppressed in comparison with those of the control infants. The present study demonstrates that DMPA, administered to the mother, does not influence the hormonal regulation of the breast-fed normal male infant.

Forty females, age 14 to 35 years (mean 28.6 years) with chronic renal failure (CRF) were included in the study. Their menstrual patterns were noted. The function of their hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis was assessed by the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin (PrL), estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) at different phases of the menstrual cycle in patients who continued to have normal menses (Group 1) and at weekly intervals for six weeks in patients with menstrual disturbances (Group II). The mean hormone levels during the initial contact Luteal phase in group I were FSH 12.0 IU/L (N, 1.0-3.0 IU/L), LH 1.8IU/L (N 1.5-101U/L), PrL 652mIU/L (N, 100-600 mIU/L) mE2 160 pmol/L (N 400-1400 pmol/L) and P5 nmol/L (N 14-60 nmol/L) for group I. Corresponding values for group II were 1.2, 10.3, 250, 600 and 3.0 in relevant units. All patients (fourteen) with end stage renal disease (ESRD) had amenorrhoae. On the other hand, most patients with stable CRF (22/26) had normal menses. Following initiation of therapy (conservative or dialytic), there was no significant alteration in the hormonal profile or menstrual pattern. We conclude that other factors apart from the hormonal imbalances, may be responsible for the menstrual disturbances noted in patients with CRF.

PIP: 125 black Kenyan women attending the Kenyatta National Family Welfare Clinic were randomly allocated to combined and fixed dose oral contraceptives (Eugynon: 500 mcg dl-norgestrel + 50 mcg ethinyl estradiol or Microgynon: 150 mcg levonorgestel + 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol). They were between 18-33 years of age with a mean of 25 +or- 7 years. The mean parity of this group was 3 and they had a mean education standard of 8 years. Fasting blood sampled were taken on recruitment (control cycle) and thereafter once for cycles 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 during OC use. HDL-cholesterol was estimated in the sear. The 2 OCs elicited a significant decrease in levels of HDL-cholesterol (p0.01). author's modified

This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of a larger study of contraception and risk of HIV infection in women. We also measured risk factors for and occurrence of HIV infection in the participants. A cohort of 1537 seronegative women attending a family planning clinic in Nairobi, Kenya was enrolled and followed for up to 12 months per woman. HIV testing was done quarterly. A nested case-control analysis was done with seroconverting women (cases) and 3 matched controls per case, who had detailed interviews and received physical examinations and STD tests. The prevalence of HIV at enrollment was 6.1%; seropositive women were excluded from further analysis. The 12-month life-table cumulative incidence of HIV was 2.1 per 100 women (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-3.2). In the nested case-control analysis (17 cases and 51 controls), the crude odds ratio of HIV infection comparing oral contraceptive (OC) users with other women was 3.5 (95%) CI 0.8-21.5), which persisted after control for single confounders at a time. The putative association between OC use sand HIV infection is critical to public health policy, yet no study has been conducted specifically to measure it, yielding weak and conflicting evidence. We intend to conduct a larger study with a similar design as the current pilot study, which confirmed the feasibility of a more definitive project.

Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi. Forty females, age 14 to 35 years (mean 28.6 years) with chronic renal failure (CRF) were included in the study. Their menstrual patterns were noted. The function of their hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis was assessed by the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin (PrL), estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) at different phases of the menstrual cycle in patients who continued to have normal menses (Group 1) and at weekly intervals for six weeks in patients with menstrual disturbances (Group II). The mean hormone levels during the initial contact Luteal phase in group I were FSH 12.0 IU/L (N, 1.0-3.0 IU/L), LH 1.8IU/L (N 1.5-101U/L), PrL 652mIU/L (N, 100-600 mIU/L) mE2 160 pmol/L (N 400-1400 pmol/L) and P5 nmol/L (N 14-60 nmol/L) for group I. Corresponding values for group II were 1.2, 10.3, 250, 600 and 3.0 in relevant units. All patients (fourteen) with end stage renal disease (ESRD) had amenorrhoae. On the other hand, most patients with stable CRF (22/26) had normal menses. Following initiation of therapy (conservative or dialytic), there was no significant alteration in the hormonal profile or menstrual pattern. We conclude that other factors apart from the hormonal imbalances, may be responsible for the menstrual disturbances noted in patients with CRF.

PIP: In November and December, 1993, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to men in the town of Machakos and to nonmedical hospital workers of Machakos General Hospital. The purpose of the study was to assess their knowledge about and attitude towards vasectomy. The majority of men were in the age group of 30-44 years and were married; the hospital group was more educated. The town men perceived the pill to be the best contraceptive method for women in contrast to the hospital group who gave more importance to bilateral tubal ligation. The hospital group also perceived vasectomy as the best method for men. Overall, 53.2% men were aware of the correct procedure of vasectomy, but only 24% had correct knowledge of how the procedure affects masculinity. The knowledge of the procedure among hospital workers was not very different from that of the town group. Recommendations were made to increase information and education to all groups of people through various media. author's modified

PIP: In November and December, 1993, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to men in the town of Machakos and to nonmedical hospital workers of Machakos General Hospital. The purpose of the study was to assess their knowledge about and attitude towards vasectomy. The majority of men were in the age group of 30-44 years and were married; the hospital group was more educated. The town men perceived the pill to be the best contraceptive method for women in contrast to the hospital group who gave more importance to bilateral tubal ligation. The hospital group also perceived vasectomy as the best method for men. Overall, 53.2% men were aware of the correct procedure of vasectomy, but only 24% had correct knowledge of how the procedure affects masculinity. The knowledge of the procedure among hospital workers was not very different from that of the town group. Recommendations were made to increase information and education to all groups of people through various media. author's modified

OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, many family planning programmes do not encourage advance provision of oral contraceptives to clients who must wait until menses to initiate pill use. Since some resistance to advance provision of pills is due to provider fears that the practice may be harmful, we conducted a study in Kenya in 1997 to compare pill-taking outcomes between 20 "advance provision" clients and 280 "standard" clients. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Six family planning clinics in Central and Western Kenya. SUBJECTS: Women presenting as new clients at MOH family planning clinics. INTERVENTIONS: Researchers used prospective tracking to compare indicators of pill-taking success between non-menstruating clients given pills to carry home for later use and menstruating clients who began pill use immediately. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pill-taking outcomes such as side effects, compliance, knowledge, satisfaction, and a continuation proxy. RESULTS: Among clients returning for re-supply, those receiving advance provision of pills did no worse than, and often had superior outcomes to, their counterparts who started taking pills immediately after the clinic visit. CONCLUSIONS: Advance provision of pills, already practiced worldwide, is safe and feasible. Explicit mention should be made of advance provision of pills in national family planning guidance documents and training curricula in Kenya and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, many family planning programmes do not encourage advance provision of oral contraceptives to clients who must wait until menses to initiate pill use. Since some resistance to advance provision of pills is due to provider fears that the practice may be harmful, we conducted a study in Kenya in 1997 to compare pill-taking outcomes between 20 "advance provision" clients and 280 "standard" clients. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Six family planning clinics in Central and Western Kenya. SUBJECTS: Women presenting as new clients at MOH family planning clinics. INTERVENTIONS: Researchers used prospective tracking to compare indicators of pill-taking success between non-menstruating clients given pills to carry home for later use and menstruating clients who began pill use immediately. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pill-taking outcomes such as side effects, compliance, knowledge, satisfaction, and a continuation proxy. RESULTS: Among clients returning for re-supply, those receiving advance provision of pills did no worse than, and often had superior outcomes to, their counterparts who started taking pills immediately after the clinic visit. CONCLUSIONS: Advance provision of pills, already practiced worldwide, is safe and feasible. Explicit mention should be made of advance provision of pills in national family planning guidance documents and training curricula in Kenya and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Members of ‘Mycoplasma mycoides cluster’ are important ruminant pathogens in Africa. Diseases caused by these Mycoplasma negatively affect the agricultural sector especially in developing countries through losses in livestock productivity, mortality and international trade restrictions. There is therefore urgent need to develop antimicrobials from alternative sources such as medicinal plants to curb these diseases. In Kenya, smallholder farmers belonging to the Maasai, Kuria and Luo rely on traditional Kenyan herbals to treat respiratory symptoms in ruminants. In the current study extracts from some of these plants were tested against the growth of members of Mycoplasma mycoides cluster.
Aim

This study aimed at identifying plants that exhibit antimycoplasmal activities using an ethnobotanical approach.

Materials and methods

Kenyan farmers of Maasai, Luo and Kuria ethnic groups were interviewed for plant remedies given to livestock with respiratory syndromes. The plant materials were thereafter collected and crude extracts prepared using a mixture of 50% of methanol (MeOH) in dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), neat methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH) and water to yield four crude extracts per plant part. The extracts were tested in vitro against five strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, five strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides and one strain of Mycoplasma capricolum subsp capricolum using broth micro-dilution assays with an initial concentration of 1 mg/ml. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the most active extracts were determined by serial dilution.
Results

Extracts from five plants namely: Solanum aculeastrum, Albizia coriaria, Ekebergia capensis, Piliostigma thonningii and Euclea divinorum exhibited the highest activities against the Mycoplasma strains tested. Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides were more susceptible to these extracts than Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri and Mycoplasma capricolum susp. capricolum. The activities of the crude extracts varied with the solvent used for extraction. The MICs mean values of the active extracts varied from 0.02 to 0.6 mg/ml.
Conclusions

The results suggested that these plants could potentially contain antimicrobial compounds that might be useful for the treatment of respiratory diseases in ruminants. Future work should focus on the isolation and identification of the active compounds from the plant extracts that showed interesting activities and evaluation of their antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential.
Mycoplasma mycoidesEthnobotanyAntimicrobial activityLivestockEthno-medicinal from plants from Kenya

Differentiation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclic (midgut) forms is an important first step in the establishment of an infection within the tsetse fly. This complex process is mediated by a wide variety of factors, including those associated with the vector itself, the trypanosomes and the bloodmeal. As part of an on-going project in our laboratory, we recently isolated and characterized a bloodmeal-induced molecule with both lectin and trypsin activities from midguts of the tsetse fly, Glossina longipennis [Osir, E.O., Abubakar, L., Imbuga, M.O., 1995. Purification and characterization of a midgut lectin-trypsin complex from the tsetse fly, Glossina longipennis. Parasitol. Res. 81, 276-281]. The protein (lectin-trypsin complex) was found to be capable of stimulating differentiation of bloodstream trypanosomes in vitro. Using polyclonal antibodies to the complex, we screened a G. fuscipes fuscipes cDNA midgut expression library and identified a putative proteolytic lectin gene. The cDNA encodes a putative mature polypeptide with 274 amino acids (designated Glossina proteolytic lectin, Gpl). The deduced amino acid sequence includes a hydrophobic signal peptide and a highly conserved N-terminal sequence motif. The typical features of serine protease trypsin family of proteins found in the sequence include the His/Asp/Ser active site triad with the conserved residues surrounding it, three pairs of cysteine residues for disulfide bridges and an aspartate residue at the specificity pocket. Expression of the gene in a bacterial expression system yielded a protein (M(r) approximately 32,500). The recombinant protein (Gpl) bound d(+) glucosamine and agglutinated bloodstream-form trypanosomes and rabbit red blood cells. In addition, the protein was found to be capable of inducing transformation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclic forms in vitro. Antibodies raised against the recombinant protein showed cross-reactivity with the alpha subunit of the lectin-trypsin complex. These results support our earlier hypothesis that this molecule is involved in the establishment of trypanosome infections in tsetse flies.

Forty one strains of Rhizobium phaseoli were screened for the ability to multiply at high temperatures on yeast extract-mannitol agar. Most strains were tolerant of 30°C, eight strains were tolerant of 45°C and two of 47°C although the rate of multiplication was reduced at 45–47°C. The high temperature-tolerant strains were isolated from Kenyan soils and were fast-growing. Seven of the eight strains tolerant of 45–47°C lost their infectiveness after incubation at high temperature but four strains tolerant of 40°C remained infective after incubation at that temperature. Thirty six strains were resistant to 200 μg ml−1 streptomycin sulphate and 29 strains to 200 μg ml−1 spectinomycin dihydrochloride. Eight strains were resistant to both antibiotics each at 200 μg ml−1. Two of the double-labelled antibiotic-resistant mutants lost their infectiveness onPhaseolus vulgaris. The response to acidity was unaltered and two of the mutants showed a decrease in temperature tolerance. The doublelabelled mutants were recoverable from two Kenyan soils.

The recent emergence of artemisinin resistance in the Greater Mekong Subregion poses a major threat to the global effort to control malaria. Tracking the spread and evolution of artemisinin-resistant parasites is critical in aiding efforts to contain the spread of resistance. A total of 417 patient samples from the year 2007, collected during malaria surveillance studies across ten provinces in Thailand, were genotyped for the candidate Plasmodium falciparum molecular marker of artemisinin resistance K13. Parasite genotypes were examined for K13 propeller mutations associated with artemisinin resistance, signatures of positive selection, and for evidence of whether artemisinin-resistant alleles arose independently across Thailand. A total of seven K13 mutant alleles were found (N458Y, R539T, E556D, P574L, R575K, C580Y, S621F). Notably, the R575K and S621F mutations have previously not been reported in Thailand. The most prevalent artemisinin resistance-associated K13 mutation, C580Y, carried two distinct haplotype profiles that were separated based on geography, along the Thai-Cambodia and Thai-Myanmar borders. It appears these two haplotypes may have independent evolutionary origins. In summary, parasites with K13 propeller mutations associated with artemisinin resistance were widely present along the Thai-Cambodia and Thai-Myanmar borders prior to the implementation of the artemisinin resistance containment project in the region.