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Application of Text Mining for Explicit Knowledge Retrieval at Kenya Coastal Development Project
No full textThis study applied and evaluated a Text Mining model and tools in the retrieval of explicit knowledge at the Kenya Coastal Development Project (KCDP). The study identified textmining techniques that could be used to develop and evaluate a text-mining model for the task, complemented with system analysis of the existing systems through surveys of 52 purposively sampled relevant staff of the KCDP using a questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGD) to collect data to establish the current situation at the KCDP in terms of records and knowledge management systems in place and how text mining may be used to retrieve knowledge from the existing systems. Text data were also collected from the project and related websites, using various Python programming language libraries including Python Request 2.22 and Beautiful Soup 3, and summarized using algorithms that included Luhnsummarizer, Lsansummarizer, Lexranksummarizer and Edmondsummarizer. Topic modelling was also performed with the text data using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic-modelling algorithm, and the model was evaluated to establish its performance. It was concluded that text mining and analysis could be used to analyze explicit knowledge from both structured and unstructured electronic data at the KCDP using the model. The study recommended that more research be done in the development and evaluation of proposed models and text analysis tools and code libraries should be developed to support other languages than English, such as Kiswahil
Prevalence and contextual factors associated with compassion fatigue among nurses in northern Uganda
No full textBackground
Compassion fatigue is associated with negative consequences that undermine workplace performance. However, literature is scarce on compassion fatigue among nurses in the context of Uganda who are at higher risk of compassion fatigue owed to the nature of their occupation and the unfavorable work environment. We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of compassion fatigue among nurses in Northern Uganda.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 395 randomly selected nurses from two referral and four general hospitals in Northern Uganda. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and logistic regression at a 95% level of significance in SPSS version 25.
Results
Of 395 nurses who took part in the study, 58.2% were female, 39.8% had a diploma, 47.1% were single, and 32.4% had worked for between 11–15 years. Close to 50% of the nurses experienced compassion fatigue. The predictors of compassion fatigue among the participants were; workplace bullying (AOR: 3.83; 95% CI: 1.99–7.36; p = <0.001) career enhancement opportunities (AOR: 9.16; 95% CI: 2.32–36.22; p = 0.002; and remuneration (AOR: 7.30; 95% CI: 2.73–19.49; p = <0.001).
Conclusion
More than 3 in 4 nurses in Northern Uganda experience compassion fatigue. The Ministry of Health together with other stakeholders should strive to increase career enhancement opportunities for nurses, improve nurses’ remuneration and improve the overall workplace environment to prevent compassion fatigue among nurses in the country
Antibacterial activity of Branded Honey preparations (sold in Thika town) on selected priority bacterial strains
No full textHoney is defined as a sweet viscous liquid produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants. Its antimicrobial properties have been used back in years as food and for medicinal purpose and it is still used nowadays. This study was carried out to determine antimicrobial activity of branded honey samples sold in Thika town. The potential of branded honey to be used as antibacterial agents was established by assessing its activity against three different bacterial strains which are gram positive Bacillus subtilis, gram negative Acinetobacter baumannii and Salmonella enteritidis. The antibacterial laboratory tests were carried out using disc diffusion method using culture media prepared from Mueller- Hinton agar. Antibacterial activity was statistically presented as the mean ± Standard error of the mean of zones of inhibition. Antibiotic resistance of bacteria has been a global challenge over many years which is the burden of world economy in both underdeveloped and developed countries. This initiated the need for rescue by using natural products resources like plants, herbs, animal, and their products which is a safer, better, accessible and effective way to overcome the AMR problem among different bacterial strains. In this study the in vitro antibacterial activity of branded honey was tested against Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacillus subtillis, and Salmonella enteritidis. This involved a process of aseptically laying the cylindrical paper disc (5mm) on to the already inoculated Muller Hilton agar with specific microorganism and then directly pipetting 4 dilutions of the different concentrations of the branded honey preparation on to the disc in 100, 75, 50, 25 proportions. The disc was allowed to dry prior to upside down incubation at 37oc for 24 hours after which the inhibition zones were recorded, all branded honey samples showed mild antibacterial activity against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and the antibacterial activity of the branded honey samples
Risky behavioral factors associated with preterm deliveries among women of childbearing age (15-49 years) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi County, Kenya
No full textWorldwide, pre-term delivery (PTD) or pre-term birth (PTB) is on the rise. World Health Organization (WHO) data shows an increase from 2 million in 1990 to 2.2 million in 2012 with about 60% of the preterm deliveries occurring in developing countries and 12.3% in Kenya. The study objective was to determine risky behavioral factors associated with preterm deliveries 1among women of childbearing age (15-49 years) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH).Methods:Maternity delivery register (MDR) was used to identify and recruit eligible study participants. A sampling frame constituting of serial numbers assigned to the mothers was made. Data was collected using pretested and structured questionnaire and a data abstraction tool. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to perform statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize categorical variables. Chi-square was used to examine the differences among the categorical variables. Prevalence adjusted odds ratios (PAOR) with their respective 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the strengths of associations.Results:The study recorded proportional differences among the study variables in their association with preterm deliveries. Among them, 100%, 40%, 22.2% and 17.1% of the mothers who used firewood, charcoal, kerosene and gas/electricity respectively had preterm deliveries.Conclusions:There was no statistically significant association between the study variables (general maternal smoking, maternal smoking during pregnancy, husband smoking, husband smoking during pregnancy, main household type of fuel) and preterm delivery
Characterization of a Plasmodium falciparum PHISTc protein, PF3D7_0801000, in blood- stage malaria parasites
No full textDuring intraerythrocytic development Plasmodium falciparum deploys numerous proteins to support erythrocyte invasion, intracellular growth and development, as well as host immune evasion. Since these proteins are key for parasite intraerythrocytic survival and propagation, they represent attractive targets for antimalarial vaccines. In this study we sought to characterize a member of the PHISTc family of proteins, PF3D7_0801000, as a potential vaccine target. Using the wheat germ cell-free system we expressed the N-terminal region of PF3D7_0801000 (G93-L494, PF3D7_0801000N) and generated specific immune sera. We observed that PF3D7_0801000 localizes in merozoites, and antibodies against PF3D7_0801000N modestly inhibit P. falciparum parasite growth in in vitro culture. Sliding window analysis of the coding sequence revealed that pf3d7_0801000n is relatively conserved among African parasite isolates. Antibody profiles in a malaria-exposed Ugandan population revealed that PF3D7_0801000N is strongly immunoreactive with antibody acquisition increasing with age. Taken together, these findings suggest the need for further evaluation of PF3D7_0801000 for its role in merozoite invasion and utility as an asexual blood-stage vaccine candidate antigen
Personality and Mental Health among Lira University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textCOVID-19 pandemic is one of the 21st -century major health crises affecting the world. Due to the pandemic, education activities were disrupted and examinations were postponed. This could have far-reaching effects on the students both physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. In this context, we conducted a cross-sectional study among undergraduate students at Lira University to assess whether there could be any relationship between their personality and mental health. A total of. Non-probability Volunteer and convenience sampling technique was used to select156 undergraduate students who participated in this study. Data was collected using a well-designed survey questionnaire and posted onto google form. Mental status was screened using the Mental Health Continuum Short Form while personality was screened using the Extraversion vs. Introversion Scale adapted from the Big Five Inventory. Both categorical and numerical data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square statistic was used to obtain the correlation between the variables. More than half, 55.77% of the participants were males, 42.95% were females while 1.28% did not disclose their gender. The results showed that 83.97% of the respondents had positive mental health, 14.74% had average mental health and 1.28% had poor mental health. The results showed that 88.46% were extroverts. Finally, the results revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between personality and mental health status. There is a need for mental health professionals to keep the mental health balance of students in the University. Counseling should also be planned along with online teaching. Besides, there is a need to understand the personality traits of students to deal with their mental health accordingly
Nucleophilic substitution of chloride from the [Pt(chlorido)(NNN)/(NCN)]+, (NNN) = bis(2-pyridyl/2-quinolyl)pyridine, (NCN) = bis(2-pyridyl/2-quinolyl)benzene) complexes by azoles
No full textThe rates of chloride substitution from [Pt(chlorido)(1,3-bis(2-pyridyl)benzene)]Cl, (PtL2); [Pt(chlorido)(2,6-bis(2-quinolinyl)pyridine)]Cl, (PtL3) and [Pt(chlorido)(1,3-bis(2-quinolinyl)benzene)]Cl (PtL4) by azoles viz., imidazole (Im), 1-methylimidazole (MIm), 1,2-dimethylimidazole (DIm), pyrazole (Pyz) and 1,2,4-triazole (Trz) were measured under pseudo-first-order conditions as a function of concentration and temperature using spectroscopic techniques. The rate data fitted to the equation, kobs. = k2[azole]. Taken together with the literature data of [Pt(chlorido)(2,2′:6,2″-terpyridine)]Cl·2H2O, (PtL1), the order of reactivity was PtL2 > PtL4 > PtL1 > PtL3, and showed a dependent on the strength of the π-back bonding from the metal centre to the tridentate spectator ligand. The cis-quinolinyl moieties of PtL3 and PtL4 accumulated electron density onto the cis Pt-N bonds through a net σ/π-induction donation towards the Pt(II) centre which impeded the attack of the incoming azole nucleophiles. The rate of chloride substitution was thus lowered relative to that of their respective analogues with cis-pyridyl moieties. Moreover, by changing the trans-donor ring from pyridyl (PtL1 and PtL3) to a phenyl (PtL2 and PtL4) in the spectator ligand framework, the trans-labilizing effect on the leaving chloride ligand was accentuated by factors in the range 102-103. The substituting power of the nucleophiles was influenced kinetically by the basicity (Im > Pyz > Trz) and steric effects of the entering nucleophile (MIm > Im > DIm) for all complexes except for PtL3, where MIm and DIm had similar reactivities. The trends in magnitudes of the rate constants correlated well with key DFT-calculated metrics of the geometry-optimized structures of the complexes. The reactions form substitution products through a common reaction pathway which is characterized by a decrease in the entropy of activation, and at a rate that is dependent on the concentration as well as the steric bulk of the azoles. These observations are characteristic of an associative mode of activation for substitution processes
Determinants of Caesarean Section as a mode of delivery at the Mater Hospital, Nairobi
Get PDFCaesarean Section (C/S) rate continues to rise in many countries with good access to medical services, yet this increase is not associated with improvement in peri-natal mortality or morbidity. The United States of America (USA), Mexico, Brazil, and Italy have the highest rate of C/S (over 35 %). In Kenya the rate of hospital-based C/S was below 6.3% while the population-based C/S was 0.95%. However, at The Mater Hospital rates of C/S deliveries have shown a steady increase in the last three years despite the availability of almost all the necessary facilities required for monitoring a mother in labor, hence the current study to investigate the determinants of C/S as a mode of delivery at The Mater Hospital, Nairobi. The general objective of the study was to investigate the determinants of Caesarean Section as a mode of delivery. The study adopted a facility based cross-sectional study design. The study population included all women aged 18-49 years who had delivered through C/S, doctors and midwives involved in maternal and child health care at The Mater Hospital as well as mothers who had undergone C/S mode of delivery and were seeking Child Welfare Clinic (CWC) services formed the sampling frame for the study. The study used an interview schedule, a self-administered questionnaire and a Key Informant Interview Guide (KII) to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The desired sample size for the study was 114 (79 mothers, 23 midwives and 12 doctors) respondents. The different groups of the respondents were stratified after which simple random sampling method was used to identify the respondents. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Chi square was used to determine the relationship between variables, with a p ≥ 0.05 being significant (95% CI). From the study, the identified determinants of C/S included university level of education (p=0.042, x2=1.3), being single parent (p=0.038, x2=.400), having a formal employment (p=0.034, x2=5.8) and a salary scale range of 40,000 to 60,000 (p=0.037, x 2=2.56). Other determinants included mal-presentation (p=0.006, x2=27.681), fetal distress, (0.0001, x2=6.34), previous C/S scar (p=0.001, x2=30.024), and Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion (p=0.0001, x2=2.56). Hypertension (0.0001, x2=9.34), failed induction (p=0001, x2=35.690), prolonged labor (p=0.0001, x2=8.39), previous bad outcome (p=0.0001, x2=7.632) and gestational diabetes (p=0.0001, x2=5.98). The study findings, demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between the mothers’ socio demographic characteristics and the preference of caesarian section as a mode of delivery. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The hospital needs to initiate a programme to mitigate against the C/S deliveries that can be prevented. Pregnant mothers need to be well informed about what they can do to minimize C/S deliveries. The healthcare providers and the hospital management team also need to educate and encourage mother for trial of labour after previous C/
Leveraging the wheat germ cell-free protein synthesis system to accelerate malaria vaccine development
Get PDFVaccines against infectious diseases have had great successes in the history of public health. Major breakthroughs have occurred in the development of vaccine-based interventions against viral and bacterial pathogens through the application of classical vaccine design strategies. In contrast the development of a malaria vaccine has been slow. Plasmodium falciparum malaria affects millions of people with nearly half of the world population at risk of infection. Decades of dedicated research has taught us that developing an effective vaccine will be time consuming, challenging, and expensive. Nevertheless, recent advancements such as the optimization of robust protein synthesis platforms, high-throughput immunoscreening approaches, reverse vaccinology, structural design of immunogens, lymphocyte repertoire sequencing, and the utilization of artificial intelligence, have renewed the prospects of an accelerated discovery of the key antigens in malaria. A deeper understanding of the major factors underlying the immunological and molecular mechanisms of malaria might provide a comprehensive approach to identifying novel and highly efficacious vaccines. In this review we discuss progress in novel antigen discoveries that leverage on the wheat germ cell-free protein synthesis system (WGCFS) to accelerate malaria vaccine development
AGIA Tag System for Ultrastructural Protein Localization Analysis in Blood-Stage Plasmodium falciparum
No full textPrecise subcellular localization of proteins is the key to elucidating the physiological role of these molecules in malaria parasite development, understanding of pathogenesis, and protective immunity. In Plasmodium falciparum, however, detection of proteins in the blood-stage parasites is greatly hampered by the lack of versatile protein tags which can intrinsically label such molecules. Thus, in this study, to develop a novel system that can be used to evaluate subcellular localization of known and novel proteins, we assessed the application of AGIA tag, consisting of 9 amino acids (EEAAGIARP), in P. falciparum blood-stage parasites. Specifically, AGIA-tagged ring-infected erythrocyte surface antigen (RESA-AGIA) was episomally expressed in P. falciparum 3D7 strain. The RESA-AGIA protein was detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using recombinant rabbit anti-AGIA tag monoclonal antibody (mAb) with a high signal/noise ratio. Similarly, AGIA-tagged multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1-AGIA), as an example of polyptic transmembrane protein, was endogenously expressed and detected by Western blotting and IFA with anti-AGIA tag mAb. Immunoelectron microscopy of the RESA-AGIA transfected merozoites revealed that mouse anti-RESA and the rabbit anti-AGIA mAb signals could definitively co-localize to the dense granules. Put together, this study demonstrates AGIA tag/anti-AGIA rabbit mAb system as a potentially useful tool for elucidating the subcellular localization of new and understudied proteins in blood-stage malaria parasites at the nanometer-level resolution