East African Journal Of Science, Technology and Innovation
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Acrylamide Intake in Nairobi Kenya : A case of French Fries Consumers
Get PDFAmong the safety concerns in fried potato products are the levels of acrylamide. High intake of acrylamide has been linked to carcinogenicity in animals and it remains a suspect human carcinogen. The current study was intended to assess exposure to acrylamide through consumption of French fries in Nairobi, Kenya. Data on levels of acrylamide was obtained by analysing samples purchased from fast food outlets in Nairobi while consumption survey was carried out in the same region targeting individual consumers. Consumption data was combined with levels and dietary acrylamide exposure was calculated using probabilistic approach. Results indicated that 57.8% of respondents were males while 42.2% were females. Majority (64.1%) of the consumers were in the age bracket of 20- 29 years. About 17.8% of the respondents consumed French fries once daily, while 78.7% consumed fries at least once a week. Average acrylamide levels in French fries significantly (p<0.05) differed with point of purchase being highest in middle end hotel fries (412 µg/kg) followed by fries from street processors (354.18 µg/kg) and high-end hotels (136.15 µg/kg). The mean and 95th (P95) percentile acrylamide intakes for consuming street processed fries were respectively 0.693 and 2.469 µg/kg bw/day, while for the middle end hotels were 0.81 and 3.369 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The mean and 95th (P95) percentile acrylamide intakes for consumption of high-end hotel fries were 0.256 and 1.035 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. When the worst-case scenario was considered, the mean margins of exposure for the street fries (260) and middle hotel fries (223) were below 310 with 95th percentiles being extremely low at 73 and 53, respectively. Consumers of these fries are at high risk of exposure. High exposures in the current study should warrant concern and need for appropriate measures to be taken by appropriate agencies
Unseen barrier of water risks to sustainable consumption and production in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES) in Kenya
Get PDFWorld economic reports cite MSMEs as important vehicles for sustainable economic growth for any country. With changing climatic conditions, water, as a resource has become scarce thus water risks, have been underscored to be an unseen barrier to the posterity of MSMEs with the potential of impacting on their unsustainable consumption patterns. Global city populations projected to double by 2050; water issues and availability are rendered high risk for businesses. Kenya termed as a water-scarce country, transfers the harsh reality of water risks as an unseen barrier to any MSMEs. The aim of the study was to investigate the unseen barrier of water risks to sustainable consumption and production in MSMEs and their threat to business bottom lines. The study was conducted through a systematic literature review of articles on water crisis and MSMEs globally and in Nairobi. Findings of the study indicate that a water crisis may result in insufficient water for a business to maintain production, while poor water quality could increase pre-treatment costs for industry explicating water risk as an unseen barrier. Water risks are further impacted by weak water governance which results in erratic water deliveries, resulting in production delays. Water risks manifest in inadequate water quantity or quality, which require MSMEs to relocate water-intense operations to water secure areas and pursuing alternatives such as building artificial storage. Water risks require huge investments to resolve it underscoring its unseen barrier for the posterity of the MSMEs. To mitigate water risks, cost-effective measures that can be taken comprise putting guidelines on water efficiency, measuring the consumption of water, and investing in new technology that ensures efficient use of water
Natural vegetation regeneration from soil seed banks in the cultivated edges of Sudd wetlands in Juba, Southern Sudan
Get PDFSoil seed banks are important for regeneration of degraded wetlands ecosystems. The Sudd wetlands of Juba city have long been encroached for crop cultivation. Seedling germination was monitored in a greenhouse to establish possible natural regeneration in Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton wetlands in the Sudd. Sixty-four species germinated from the soil seed bank of which 12.5% were dominated by Cyperus difformis and Typha capensis. The findings showed that median wetland species richness in Mindiari was 1.5 (interquartile range = 0.75?3.5), Rejaf 2.5 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 4.0), Roton 3 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 5.0) while median Shannon-Wiener diversity was 1.5 (1.14 ?1.73), 1.43 (1.01?1.66), 1.15 (0.98?1.67) for Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton respectively. Both the median seed species richness and diversity were not significantly different among the study wetlands. The median of seed density (56.1) was significantly higher in Roton than in Mindiari (36.7) and Rejaf (29.4) wetlands. The NMDS results showed that species composition of Mindiari and Rejaf was different from Roton. It is concluded that growing crops in wetlands did not influence species richness and diversity but it reduced seed density and altered species composition. Although wetland species were not significantly different in the three-wetland categories, dominance of canopy species belonging to Typhaceae and Cyperaceae indicates that these species are resilient to cultivation and could facilitate natural regeneration of cultivated wetlands edges of the Sudd region in Juba. Further research should examine effect of cultivation duration and flooding regimes on soil seed bank species richness, diversity, and density and composition
A Goal-Oriented Requirements Engineering Framework for E-government Information Systems
Get PDFE-government information systems projects in developing countries face several challenges that lead to their partial or total failure. Several causes of e-government information systems project failure have been identified, including inadequate requirement engineering. The overall failure rate of e-government information systems projects due to requirements engineering inadequacies is still high. Inadequate requirement engineering leads to systems with missing features, low quality, project costs, and time overrun. This research aims to design a framework to guide practitioners in e-government information systems requirements engineering processes. The design science research approach and qualitative data collection and analysis methods were applied through three iterative cycles of rigor, design, and relevancy. The proposed framework is based on goals and viewpoints requirements engineering. It consists of three models: the e-government viewpoints model, the e-government goals model, and the e-government requirements engineering process model. The framework was validated through two rounds of Delphi focus group discussion techniques and a single technical action research case study. The results showed a strong consensus among practitioners about the proposed framework\u27s ease of use and utility with a mean agreement of 4.429/5. The technical action research involved five practitioners who applied the proposed framework to discover the requirements of the road emergency response module of road safety information systems of Tanzania. A total of 104 requirements were discovered compared to nine requirements elicited before without using the proposed framework. The overall objective of the proposed framework is to facilitate the discovery and specification of adequate and relevant requirements for e-government information systems projects and ultimately reduce the rate of e-government projects failure and contribute to the realisation of e-government benefits
Randomised controlled trial on estrus and conception impacts of reproductive and nutrition interventions on Kenyan smallholder dairy farms.
No full textThis field trial tested the hypothesis that providing Kenyan smallholder dairy farmers with training and resources can enhance cows’ cyclicity and conception using conventional or sexed semen. One hundred farmers were randomly selected and randomly allocated to five equal-sized intervention groups: 1) reproduction only; 2) nutrition only; 3) reproduction and nutrition; 4) education only (quasi-control); or 5) nothing (control). Reproductive interventions included provision of prostaglandin F2? (PG) and/or gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to induce estrus, and reproduction education. Nutrition interventions included provision of leguminous shrubs and nutrition education. At monthly visits over 17 months, farm and cattle data were collected, and open cattle underwent physical and reproductive exams to determine readiness for farmer decisions on sexed semen utilization. Cox proportional hazards modeling (CoxPH) was used to determine if intervention group was significantly associated with risk of conception. The final dataset included 191 cows and 26 heifers. Lowest and highest heat submission percentages were 8.5% and 35.5% in the control and reproduction groups, respectively. Conception percentages in cows and heifers were 44.0% and 54.5% for sexed semen and 72% and 79% for conventional semen, respectively. In the final multivariable CoxPH model, each unit increase in average body condition score was associated with 3.5 times higher risk of conception. Cattle that were inseminated following spontaneous heat had 1.8 times higher risk of conception over cows that were inseminated following a hormone-induced heat. In a significant interaction variable, when cows were supplemented with dairy meal in the last month of gestation, a higher risk of conception was achieved in cows on groups where leguminous shrubs were fed compared to groups where no leguminous shrubs were fed. This study concludes that focused effort on improving reproduction through education, hormone use and improved nutrition can improve heat submission and conception percentages on Kenyan smallholder dairy farms
Toward improving household livelihoods using rain water harvesting technologies in Matungulu sub-county, Machakos, Kenya
Get PDFBetter utilization of rainfall through rainwater harvesting can greatly increase agricultural productivity, improve food security and alleviate poverty. Water is the main limiting resource for crop production in arid sub-Saharan Africa. The biggest challenge currently is growing water shortage and dwindling rivers. This has impacted the livelihoods of rural population in arid and semi-arid counties. The introduction of novel rain-water harvesting (RWH) is, however, seeking to mitigate the effects of perennial droughts in arid areas. Successful adoption of such technologies has the potential to alleviate water problems faced by rural households. In Kenya, very little research has been conducted about adoption of water harvesting technologies and their role in curbing water shortages. Therefore, there was a need to interrogate the extent to which adoption of water harvesting technologies has impacted households in Matungulu Sub-County. Focus group discussions, interview with key informants, and structured questionnaires were used to collect data for the study which were then analyzed using SPSS version 22 software. The findings indicated that overall, a composite mean of 4.04 and a standard deviation of 0.699 of the respondents agreed that incentives from the county government significantly promoted water harvesting technologies. This was confirmed by a positively strong and significant correlation between the integration of RHT in the county development agenda and the impact on household livelihoods. A further regression analysis indicated that Integration of RHT had a positive and significant influence on household livelihoods (β= 0.755, t=22.351, p=0.000<0.05). Results of this survey indicate that rainwater technologies are financed mostly by household heads and county government initiatives have not been adequately felt. There is a strong indication from the study that water harvesting technologies had a statistically significant influence on the impact on household livelihoods. To ensure sustainability of rainwater harvesting technologies, the study recommends that Machako
Flood-risk vulnerabilities of sanitation facilities in urban informal settlements: Lessons from Kisumu City, Kenya
Get PDFFlood disasters have increased in frequency and severity over the recent decades causing untold destruction to vulnerable physical infrastructure such as sanitation facilities. Factors including construction quality, design, siting, and users’ behaviour further exacerbate the vulnerability of facilities. Despite this reality, very little has been done to document the extent of flood risk facing such facilities in the pro-poor urban informal settlements in developing countries. This study assessed the flood risks of vulnerable sanitation facilities in the urban informal settlements of Kisumu city, Kenya. The methodology involved assessment of sanitation facilities’ flood vulnerabilities and assessment of flood risk models. Flood risk was assessed by estimating runoff from yearly rainfall totals and also by calculating storm return period and probability of exceedance. Vulnerability assessment for each sanitation facility was done by scoring against flood risk indicators ordered by weighted rank. The study observed that majority sanitation facilities in the urban informal settlements were considered “highly vulnerable” (57%). Flood risk analysis predicted growing vulnerability due to shorter storm return periods, especially under the RCP 8.5 scenario. It was established that over 20% of all rainfall events in the 50-year timeline had a higher than 80% probability of exceedance rainfall, signifying higher storm risks. Additionally, the study showed that between 44% of rainfall received in the study area could translate to runoff, in the near future, further compounding flood risk predictions. With key informal settlements such as Nyalenda and Manyatta facing stronger future flood risks, general public health may be threatened, leading to increased social and economic instability on families and households. The study recommends adherence to improved toilet standards of construction and toilet-raising as methods of improving flood risk resilience and adaptation
Utilization of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash from Power Co-generation Boilers as a Supplementary Cementitious Material
Get PDFConcrete has been the world’s most consumed construction material, with over 10 billion tons of concrete annually. This is mainly due to its excellent mechanical and durability properties plus high mouldability. However, one of its major constituents; Ordinary Portland Cement is reported to be expensive and unaffordable by most low-income earners. Its production contributes about 5%–8% of global CO2 greenhouse emissions. This is most likely to increase exponentially with the demand of Ordinary Portland Cement estimated to rise by 200%, reaching 6000 million tons/year by 2050. Therefore, different countries are aiming at finding alternative sustainable construction materials that are more affordable and offer greener options reducing reliance on non-renewable sources. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the possibility of utilizing sugarcane bagasse ash from co-generation in sugar factories as supplementary material in concrete. Physical and chemical properties of this sugarcane bagasse ash were obtained plus physical and mechanical properties of fresh and hardened concrete made with partial replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement. Cost-benefit analysis of concrete was also assessed. The study was carried using 63 concrete cubes of size 150cm3 with water absorption studied as per BS 1881-122; slump test to BS 1881-102; and compressive strength and density of concrete according to BS 1881-116. The cement binder was replaced with sugarcane bagasse ash 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% by proportion of weight. Results showed the bulk density of sugarcane bagasse ash at 474.33kg/m3, the specific gravity of 1.81, and 65% of bagasse ash has a particle size of less than 0.28mm. Chemically, sugarcane bagasse ash contained SiO2, Fe2O3, and Al2O3 at 63.59%, 3.39%, and 5.66% respectively. A 10% replacement of cement gave optimum compressive strength of 26.17MPa. This 10% replacement demonstrated a cost saving of 5.65% compared with conventional concrete.
Suitability of Electronic Health Record Data for Computational Phenotyping of Diabetes Mellitus at Nairobi Hospital, Nairobi City County, Kenya
Get PDFThis research aims to determine the applicability of routine healthcare in clinical informatics research. One of the key areas of research in precision medicine is computational phenotyping from longitudinal Electronic Health Record (EHR) data. The objective of this research was to determine how the interplay of EHR software design, the use of a data dictionary, the process of data collection, and the training and motivation of the human resource involved in the collection and entry of data into the EHR affect the quality of EHR data thus the suitability of such data for utility in computational phenotyping of diabetes mellitus. This research employed a prospective/retrospective study design at the diabetes clinic in Nairobi Hospital. The first source of data was from interviews with 32 staff; nurses, doctors, and health record officers using a referenced peer-reviewed usability questionnaire. Thereafter, a sample of EHR data collected during routine care between January 2012 and December 2016 was also analyzed by looking into the quality of clusters identified in the data using a density-based clustering algorithm and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Regression analysis shows that software design and the utility of a data dictionary explained 50.7% and 32.3% respectively in the improvement of the suitability of EHR data for computational phenotyping of diabetes mellitus. Also, EHR software was rated useful (82%) in accomplishing users’ daily tasks. However, EHR data were found to be unsuitable for utility in computational phenotyping of diabetes. Despite the fact that 88% of EHR data were clustered as noise, the clustering algorithm identified a total of 23 clusters from the diabetes dataset. However, with improved quality of EHR data, sub-phenotyping tasks would be achievable. This research concludes that the poor quality of EHR data is a result of employees’ unmet intrinsic factors of motivation.
Spatial and temporal variations in land use and land cover in the Njoro and Kamweti River catchments, Kenya
Get PDFThe Njoro and Kamweti River catchments are productive catchments that have and continue to experience major land-use changes with consequences on land cover and the associated environmental resources. It is, therefore, crucial to understand the type of changes occurring, spatial patterns, and the rates at which these changes are occurring. In this study, we quantified the changes in land use and land cover that occurred between 1988 and 2019 identifying areas of change and the average annual rate of change. Thematic Mappers (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mappers Plus (ETM +) and Sentinel images were obtained for 1988 and 2019. Ground truthing was carried out to enable us to verify the accuracy of the remotely sensed data using in-situ observations to refine the classification output. The results obtained indicated that both catchments have experienced intense land-use changes but at different levels. Njoro River catchment’s forest cover and shrubland had decreased at a rate of 6.06 Km2/year and 0.92 Km2/year respectively and the most increase was recorded in farmlands (3.11 Km2/year) as the other land use classes also increased. In the Kamweti River catchment, forest cover showed a decrease at a rate of 0.21 Km2/year, and farmlands also a slight decrease of 0.1 Km2/year while the other land cover classes increased in area coverage during the period 1988-2019. The changes in land use and land cover were attributed to increased demand for food and housing and thus continued degrading the two catchments especially the Njoro River catchment. Results obtained indicated that anthropogenic activities were the major contributing factors to the changes in Land Use Land Cover experienced in both catchments. We recommend continued analysis of the trends and rates of land cover conversions owing to their potential use by development planners.