East African Journal Of Science, Technology and Innovation
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Chemical composition of Azadirachta indica A. Juss and Ricinus communis Linn. seed oils growing in Marigat, Baringo County, Kenya
No full textAll parts of A. indica (neem) and R. communis (castor) plants have mostly been used as natural remedies in the control and treatment of several ailments, control of pests and insects, animal feeds and production of industrial products globally. The seed oils of A. indica and R. communis are known to have antidiabetic, anti-helminthic, antifertility, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, insecticidal and mosquitocidal activity. This study reports for the first time the chemical composition of A. indica and R. communis seed oils from Marigat, Baringo County, Kenya. Seed oils of A. indica and R. communis were extracted from mature dried seeds through cold pressing and boiling respectively and chemical composition determined using Gas Chromatography (GC)-Mass Spectrometry (MS). The constituents of both seed oils were dominated by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, cyclic esters and methyl esters. The predominant constituents of R. communis were (Z)-6-Octadecenoic acid (37.33%), Ricinoleic acid (30.22%) and 13-Hexyloxacyclotridec-10-en-2-one (26.67%) while those of A. indica were 2-hexyl-1-decanol (30.97%), Octadecanoic acid (29.69%) and Oxalic acid, 6-ethyloct-3-yl ethyl ester (15.55%). Oils contained Hexadecanoic acid and Octadecanoic acid which are used in the manufacture of several products such as candles, soaps, lotions, perfumes and cosmetics. Octadecenoic acid is important in control of human diseases and Ricinoleic acid in production of alkyd resins for surface coating and biofuel. From the results, A. indica and R. communis seed oils constituents have potential in the agricultural, industrial, comestics and pharmaceutical sectors but require further fractionation to isolate the bioactive compounds
Synthesis, Characterisation and Application of Chromic Oxide-Lophira Alata Carbonized Sawdust Nanocomposite (COLACSN) in Removing Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions from aqueous solution
Get PDFThe aim of this research is to examine the efficiency of removing cadmium-II and lead-II ions from aqueous solution using chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite (COLACSN) synthesized by modified co-precipitation and thermal degradation method. The physicochemical characterization of chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite was evaluated with the use of x-ray diffractograms (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-Transform infrared spectrophotometer (F-TIR). The nanocomposite was amorphous with some degree of crystallinity, smooth and spherical in shape with a particles size of 12.05 nm in apparently soft agglomerates. The quantity of cadmium-II and lead-II ions before and after treatment of the aqueous solution was evaluated using atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). Adsorption experiments were conducted in batches and the adsorption property of COLACSN was studied using isotherm models and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The adsorption isothermal study revealed that the adsorption manner was physical and favorable for the accumulation of Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions on to chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite. The chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite had high adsorption capacity for Pb2+ ions. The accumulation process of Pb2+ ions was exothermic and possesses a high interaction with the adsorbent chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite. The optimization analysis revealed that the Pb2+ ions were more adsorbed compared to Cd2+ ions with optimum adsorption capacities of 191.50mg/g and 66.20mg/g respectively. These values agreed with the kF values obtained from Freundlich isotherm. This implies that the chromic oxide-lophira alata carbonised sawdust nanocomposite was more effective in the removal of Pb2+ ions
Impact of calf feeding practices on calf growth and health in smallholder dairy farms in Nyeri County, Kenya
Get PDFThe objective of this study was to assess potential impact of selected enhanced feeding practices on growth of smallholder dairy calves. In the period between May and August 2012, 36 privately owned Kenyan smallholder dairy farms with new-born calves were purposively selected to participate in a randomized control trial. The calves were randomly allocated to one of nine feed intervention groups based on three groups of Calf Starter Intake (CSI; 20% protein) and three groups of Milk Intake (MI): control, half, and full. Full CSI intake involved lead feeding to achieve up to 1 kg/day feed intake at weaning, half CSI was to maximize intake at 0.5kg/day at weaning, while control CSI was the farmers’ normal practice (0-0.2 kg/day). Full MI was 4 Liters/day and half milk intake was 2 Liters/day, while control MI was the farmers’ normal practice (2-10 Liters/day). Each of the nine intervention groups had four calves per group (one calf died during the 1st week) resulting in 35 calves. Data on calf weight and height were collected weekly through farm visits for a period of eight weeks, and management data were collected through an in-person questionnaire. The results showed significant differences in the mean average daily weight gains across the different feed intervention groups at P (<0.001). All full CSI groups had weight gains over 0.5 kg/day. The full CSI + control MI had a positive association with the mean average daily weight gain at (0.61 kg/day), higher than the other two full CSI groups because of higher MI in this small group. In mixed multivariable linear regression analyses, weekly calf weights were higher with calf age and body condition score, a normal gastrointestinal tract, and amount of calf starter consumed per day, along with feeding sweet potato vines.
 
The Internet in East Africa, a mixed methods study
Get PDFEast Africa was the last major area of the world to gain access to the Internet when submarine fibre-optic cables landed at Mombasa, Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 2009. The region previously relied on satellite communications to individual Internet Service Providers (ISP). This presented a unique opportunity to acquire and document the thoughts of key business, political and technical leaders who were, and continue to be, an integral part of the development of the regional Internet ecosystem from 2009, via the SEACOM and TEAMS cables. This prompted a mixed methods political economy study of the Internet in East Africa to gain an understanding of why the regional Internet infrastructure developed as it did, a vision of the future direction of the regional Internet, a view of the disruptive potential of new networking technologies such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) as well as the growth of the Internet\u27s multinational online companies that now dominate the Internet. The study concludes that the landing of the submarine fibre-optic cables was the catalyst for improvements that drove the development of regional infrastructure leading to rapidly improving Internet services such as streaming video facilitated by investment in ISP and Internet eXchange Points (IXP) improvements through mobile phone generations and roll-outs across the region have facilitated citizen access. The study also shows that fibre will play an increasingly important role; however, wireless that will remain the key delivery Internet platform over the next decade
Analysis of gender parity in climate change adaptation actions within Kajiado and Kiambu counties, Kenya
Get PDFKenya remains susceptible to climate change due to the dependence on rain-fed agriculture with limited climate change adaptation capacity. This study sought to establish the influence of gender roles on climate change adaptation in two different ago-climatic zones namely, Kajiado East and Central within Kajiado County in the arid part of Kenya and Kabete and Kikuyu within Kiambu County in the highlands region. A survey was conducted on 312 households, six gendered focus group discussions, and fourteen key informant interviews. Frequency analysis was used for descriptive statistics. Chi-square was used to test for statistical associations between variables (p?0.05). The findings showed that Kajiado County has experienced more climate change-related household food insecurity in comparison to Kiambu County. Only 12% of the respondents in Kiambu County indicated having experienced extreme household food insecurity related to climate change. The findings showed 66% of the respondents in Kajiado County considered herd mobility as the most important climate change adaptation strategy while in Kiambu 56% of the respondents considered changing of planting dates as the most important climate change adaptation strategy. Frequency analysis results indicated that there is more gender disparity in Kajiado than Kiambu County as shown by women having the least access and control over household land in both the rainy and extended drought periods. The gender disparity was confirmed by the chi-square test. Chi-square test results for full control of household land during the extended drought season in Kajiado county was (c2= 102.3, df = p? 0.1). It was concluded that the autonomous nature of the adaptation strategies coupled with the influence of gender roles impedes achieving effective climate change adaptation strategies at the household level. There is a need for planned gender-sensitive adaptation actions to cushion local communities against climate change and enhance household food security
Estimating Prosopis pod production in the drylands of Magadi in Kajiado, Kenya
No full textProsopis juliflora was introduced in Baringo County in the Rift valley, Kenya as a shrub species to rehabilitate the denuded dry lands. It became invasive and spread to other pastoralist areas in Kenya, including Magadi region thereby competing and replacing other vegetation types. Past research has however shown that its pods have proven qualities for use as animal feedstuff. This study was undertaken with the objective of establishing whether Prosopis juliflora pods in the drylands of Magadi area in Kajiado County was in sufficient quantities for production of animal feeds. Pods were collected and weighed once a week in randomly selected and fenced 30 x 30-meter plots in the Nguruman escarpment and the Olkiramatian floodplains. Three categories of plots based on plant density were marked out as dense, moderate and sparse respectively. Half of the dense plots had their Prosopis trees pruned and thinned to allow spacing of five meters (managed dense). Weekly collection and weighing of pods was carried out for a period of ten months including one wet season and two dry seasons. The managed dense, unmanaged dense, moderate and sparse plots yielded 44.3 tonnes per hectare (tha-1,) 24.5 tha-1, 15.4 tha-1 and 1.3 tha-1 in Nguruman escarpment and 9.3 tha-1, 17.6 tha-1, 1.5 tha-1 and 0.2 tha-1 in the Olkiramatian floodplains respectively. The management practice of pruning and spacing increased pod yield production in the well-watered escarpment landscape. The lowest and highest pod yields were recorded during the dry season and the rainy season respectively. The results showed that the dense unmanaged plots in the lowland landscapes had higher pod yields when compared to the managed dense plots in the escarpment landscape. Variation in pod yields was analyzed using Genstat 14th edition. The results from this study found that the managed Prosopis stands located in the escarpment
Factors associated with level of income derived from working donkeys for smallholder farmers in the central highlands of Kenya
Get PDFFew studies have documented the economic benefits obtained from working donkeys within the context of a highland agro-ecosystem. The objective of this study was to determine farm level factors associated with household incomes for farms that keep donkeys within smallholder farms in central Kenya. Data was collected using a semi- structured questionnaire administered to 351 donkey owners and users and analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis. The results show that an average household owned three donkeys with a ratio of male to female donkeys estimated at 2:1. Majority (83%) of the donkeys were purchased into farms. Most households (98%) relied on donkeys as their primary source of income. The monthly gross margin obtained through commercial transport of goods using donkeys was 9,272 ± 41.7 KES implying a gross profit of 62%. The farm level factors that were associated with level of household incomes included the number of working donkeys reared per farm (P < 0.001), number of hours the donkeys worked (P = 0.05), savings from using own donkey transportations (P < 0.001) and engaging in crops (P = 0.017) and other livestock farming (P = 0.004). Alternative household income could be earned from the sale of donkey manure, hiring out of donkeys for work and sale of adult donkeys or their foals. Indirectly, use of own donkey for transport saved on transport and labor charges. These results call for a shift in attention on donkey health and welfare, which is ignored by livestock extension agents and policy makers in most farming systems across the developing world, where communities rely on donkeys as a source of subsistence for livelihoods
Factors associated with HPV vaccination uptake in Central Uganda
No full textThe burden of cervical cancer in Uganda is high yet uptake of HPV vaccination is low. Identification of child and mother factors associated with HPV vaccination are important for targeted interventions however, this problem has not been well investigated. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of HPV vaccine uptake and associated factors among the10 to 17-year-old girls in Central Uganda four years after rolling out the vaccine in the country. The cross-sectional survey was done in Wakiso and Nakasongola districts in Central Uganda. A total of 503 girls participated in the study. Logistic regression analyses were done to establish the relationship between vaccination status and socio-demographic characteristics of the girls and their mothers. HPV vaccination uptake was generally low (39.4%) in central Uganda and significantly associated with; mothers’ education attainment, HPV knowledge, mothers’ age, religion, wealth index, type of residence, birth order and schooling status. There were reduced odds of HPV vaccination among Pentecostal girls [OR=0.44; (95% CI: 0.21-0.90), p=0.025)] and rural dwelling girls [OR=0.24 (95% CI: 0.16-0.37), P=0.016)]. The likelihood of vaccination was higher among girls; of birth order three [OR=2.45 (95% CI: 1.25-4.82), P=0.029)], who were schooling [OR=2.73 (95% CI: 1.12-6.63), P=0.027)], with high wealth index [OR= 2.31 (95% CI: 1.12-4.76), P=0.024)], living with mothers with high HPV knowledge [OR= 2.26 (95% CI: 1.41-3.61), P=0.001)], and whose mothers were aged 30-39 years [OR= 2.44 (95% CI: 1.07-5.59), P=0.034)]. Both child and mother characteristics showed a marked impact on HPV vaccination. Strategies like creation of awareness should target girls: in rural areas, not schooling, with lower social economic status, living with women below 29 years, of lower birth orders, and living with less knowledgeable women; and involving religious leaders in programs should be embraced in order to achieve high vaccination uptake
Access to livelihood resources and choices of development strategies: : implications for the development of conservation strategies
Get PDFThis study engages with the debate in the literature on access to livelihood resources and livelihood diversification to show how differences in people’s access to resources result in differences in the choices of development strategies (DST) that people pursue for livelihoods’ enhancement. It uses a multinomial logit model to analyse how access to social and financial capitals affects people’s choices of DST in the rural river basin areas of Tanzania. Further to that, the study links the findings with policy initiatives related to the conservation of river basin resources (RBR). The study uses survey data which were supplemented by qualitative data gathered through focus group discussions. Findings show that both access to social and financial capitals affect the choice of secondary DST, though access to social capital seems to be more important in Kilombero, and access to financial capital more important in Meatu. In Kilombero, access to social capital is an important factor for people to diversify their activities away from traditional pastoralism, an activity that is not environmentally friendly. In Simiyu, access to financial capital raises the likelihood of people to participate in off-farm activities instead of other activities that make enormous use of RBR, for example, traditional pastoralism and irrigated farming
Comparative analysis of the typology, seasonality and economic cost of human-wildlife conflict in Kajiado and Laikipia Counties, Kenya
Get PDFHuman –wildlife conflicts (HWC) affect the social-economic aspects of millions of people across the world and is one of the most important challenges facing wildlife conservation. Long-term data collection provides an opportunity to critically understand HWC trends and enable wildlife stakeholders to create evidence-based solutions for co-existence of people and wildlife. We used Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) data for the 2010-2018 period to analyse trends in typology, seasonality and economic costs of HWC in Kajiado and Laikipia Counties in Kenya. A total of 953 HWC reported cases in the two counties were analysed. Wildlife threats to human life, crop damage and livestock predation were the common form of HWC, contributing 65.7% (n=626), 21.7% (n=207), and 7.7% (n=73) respectively. Apart from livestock predation (t=2.431; P=0.028) all other types of HWC did not show any significant differences in the two counties over the nine-year period. Elephants were responsible for the highest conflict cases (79%, n=753) followed by baboons (6.9%, n=66). Elephants contributed to the highest human fatality and injuries (43%, n=10); while snakes and buffalo were second, each contributing to 17% (n=4) of the total cases. Majority of the HWC occurred in the dry season months of July (n=114), January (n=99) and October (n=96). The overall trend indicated increasing HWC cases over the 9 years in both counties. The analysis of economic cost of HWC showed that a total of 64.09 hectares of crops were damaged in 2010-2018, with 70% of the cases reported in Kajiado County. In terms of predation, Kajiado lost livestock worth KES 1,785, 000 (U 3826.15). This study provides empirical evidence that can be used to develop strategies for mitigating HWC based on types, seasons and conflict species.