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Assessment on Ingredients of skin lightening products on Sale in Thika Town
No full textWith the public‟s growing interest in skin whitening, lightening ingredients only used
under dermatological supervision until recently, are more and more frequently
incorporated into cosmetic formulas. The active agents that lighten skin tone are either
natural or synthetic substances. They are used to treat various skin pigmentation
disorders or simply to obtain a lighter skin tone as whiter skin may be synonymous of
wealth, health, youth, and/or beauty in different cultures. However, recent studies
demonstrated the adverse effects of some of these ingredients, leading to their
interdiction or restricted use under the regulations. After an overview of skin whitening
practices and the associated risks, this article provides insight into the mechanisms
involved in melanin synthesis and the biological assays available to attest the lightening
activity of individual ingredients. The legislation dealing with the use of skin lighteners
is then discussed. As traditional depigmenting agents such as hydroquinone and
corticosteroids are of safety concern, the potential of natural extracts has been
investigated more and mor
Emotional intelligence and compassion fatigue among psychotherapists in selected districts of Northern Uganda
No full textGlobally, close to 50% of the professionals working with traumatised individuals have issues related to compassion fatigue. In Uganda, although compassion fatigue is prevalent among psychotherapists, there is limited evidence of relationship between emotional intelligence and compassion fatigue. This study set out to fill this gap. Data were collected from a random sample of 207 psychotherapists working in Northern Uganda, who completed Emotional Competency Inventory version-2.0 and Professional Quality of Life version-5 questionnaires. Chi-square and Fischer’s exact tests were used to analyse the data. Findings revealed that all the four elements of emotional intelligence (social awareness, self-awareness, self-management, and social skills) were inversely related to levels of compassion fatigue and were statistically significant at p < .0001. The study recommended that organisations offering psychotherapy services could focus on building emotional intelligence of their psychotherapists. Increasing emotional intelligence of psychotherapists is necessary to enable them deal more effectively, with their feelings and thus directly decrease the level of compassion fatigue thereby protecting their mental and physical health
Evaluative study on the use of post exposure prophylaxis (pep) in igegania sub-county hospital to prevent hiv infection
No full textPost-exposure prophylaxis drugs are used within 72 hours after occupational and non-occupational exposure to prevent hiv infection. Health care providers should evaluate persons rapidly for pep drugs when care is sought≤72 hours after a potential non –occupation exposure that presents substantial risk for hiv infection. Persons to be considered for pep should have their hiv status tested using a rapid combined ag/ab or anti-body blood test. Course of three anti-retroviral drugs regimen are provided which includes tdf/3tc+lpv/r or tdf/3tc+atv/r. The objective of the study were to evaluate the effectiveness of the pep drugs, to ascertain the people who are eligible for pep drugs, to indicate the age category which abuses post exposure prophylaxis drugs. Data was obtained from record for representing age category of people who abuses pep drugs and the questionnaire were administered to the health workers who have ever used pep drugs to indicate the side effects they experience and those who issue pep drugs also provide information regarding the patient they issue with pep drugs. The study shows that the youth are the mostly people who abuses pep drugs. Patients ranging from 41-50 years of age represent the lowest percentage. It shows that there was rising cases of unprotected sex which leads to highest percentage of pep usage (68.18%), rape (4.54%), needle stick injuries (22.72%) and human bite (4.54%). The study also shows there is effectiveness of pep drugs among the patients who revisit the health facility for baseline testing. Side effects reported when the study was being conducted include jaundice which was shown by almost all patients, nausea, bloating, diarrhea, and flatulence. From the study it was concluded that jaundice mostly occurs due to atv/r, youth being the mostly people who abuses pep drugs and patients are being encouraged to take pep drug with food to avoid some of the side effects. For effectiveness the patients are supposed to be initiated with starter pack for 3-7 days and after completion of the dosage, patients should follow up for retesting.
Pep drugs are not issued to patients who engages in occupational exposure and non- occupational exposure > 72 hours and those who are not in haart drugs. For improvement of effectiveness health care providers were supposed to remain updated on the current guidelines of pep drugs to prevent resistance. Counseling sessions should also be provided to people receiving pep drugs to enable them to be aware of the side effects for completion of dosage. Pep drugs should be provided to partner in which one of the couple is hv positive and the other one is hiv negative
Devolved health system capacity in the provision of care for sick newborns and young infants in four counties serving vulnerable populations in Kenya
No full textPossible severe bacterial infections (PSBI) is one of the three leading causes of newborn and young infant mortality globally that can be prevented by timely diagnosis and treatment using suitable antibiotics. High impact interventions such as use of out-patient injectable gentamicin and dispersible Amoxicillin with community-based follow up have been shown to reduce mortality in clinical trials. The objective of this study was to assess the health systems’ preparedness and organizational gaps that may impact execution in providing care for newborns and sick young infants. This formative research study was embedded within a three-year implementation research project in 4 Counties in Kenya. The indicators were based on facility audits for existing capacity to care for newborns and young infants as well as County organizational capacity assessment. The organizational capacity assessment domains were derived from the World Health Organization’s Health Systems Building blocks for health service delivery. The scores were computed by adding average scores in each domain and calculated against the total possible scores to generate a percentage outcome. Statistical analyses were descriptive with adjustment for clustering of data. Overall, the Counties have inadequate organizational capacity for management of sick young infants with Organizational Capacity Index scores of between 61–64%. Among the domains, the highest score was in Health Management Information System and service delivery. The lowest scores were in monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Counties scored relatively low scores in human resources for health and health products and commodities with one scoring poorly for both areas while the rest scored average performance. The four counties revealed varying levels of organizational capacity deficit to effectively manage sick young infants. The key underlying issues for the below par performance include poor coordination, low funding, inadequate supportive supervision, and M&E to enable data utilisation for quality improvement. It was evident that newborn and young infant health services suffer from inadequate infrastructure, equipment, staffing, and coordination. As Kenya, continuously rolls out the guidelines on management of sick young infants, there is need to focus attention to these challenges to enhance sustainable adoption and reduction of young infant morbidity and mortality.The project that generated data used in this study was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of AID-OAA-A-17-00031. The study was part of a 3-year project on Scaling up PSBI Guidelines in Kenya through building confidence in the management of sepsis in young infants, subaward number-SR1715. The funding was awarded to JG. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Ethics and Governance in Supply Chain Management for Economic Development
No full textSupply chain management is experiencing lack of direction, poor coordination and unfair competition, transparency and accountability as well as fraud in the public sector, consequently lack of qualified supply chain management specialists to perform and carry out supply chains activities competently, at the right time and cost-effectively has negatively affected the performance of supply chain in the public institutions. In addition to inflexible and bureaucratic delays, increased and exaggerated costs, as well as irregular procurement activities in public institutions, create a loophole to fraud public resource
The role of N,N-chelate ligand on the reactivity of (η6-p-cymene)Ru(II) complexes: kinetics, DNA and protein interaction studies
No full textThis study reports the kinetic studies of aqua complexes (Ru1–Ru6) as well as the calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and bovine serum albumin binding studies of their chloro derivatives (Ru7–Ru11). The rate of substitution of the aqua ligand(s) in Ru1–Ru6 by thiourea nucleophiles (thiourea, N,N-dimethylthiourea and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylthiourea) in 0.1 M HClO4/NaClO4 aqueous medium was investigated as a function of nucleophile concentration and temperature under pseudo-first order conditions. The reactivity of the binuclear and mononuclear complexes decreased in the order Ru3 > Ru4 > Ru5 > Ru6 and Ru1 > Ru2, respectively. The trend in reactivity of the binuclear complexes showed a dependence on the electronic and static factors of the rigid N,N-chelate bridging ligand in the complexes. The reactivity trends are well supported by the DFT-calculated data. The activation parameters (ΔH≠ > 0, ΔS≠ < 0) for the substitution process in all complexes support an associative mechanism of activation. The complexes effectively bind to CT-DNA via intercalation and this was corroborated by the molecular docking results. Likewise, the complexes bind favorably with bovine serum albumin. The order of CT-DNA and bovine serum albumin interactions with these complexes are in line with the trends in aqua ligand substitution
Seven membered chelate Pt(ii) complexes with 2,3-di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline ligands: studies of substitution kinetics by sulfur donor nucleophiles, interactions with CT-DNA, BSA and in vitro cytotoxicity activities
No full textDichloro platinum(II) complexes coordinated with 2,3-di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline ligands which form seven-membered chelates namely, bpqPtCl2, dmbpqPtCl2 and bbqPtCl2 (where bpq, dmbpq and bbq are 2,3-di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline, 6,7-dimethyl-2,3-di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline and 2,3-bis(2′pyriyl)benzo[g]quinoxaline, respectively) were synthesized, characterised and their respective hydrated product complexes namely, bpqPt(OH2)22+, dmbpqPt(OH2)22+ and bbqPt(OH2)22+ were prepared by chloride metathesis. The substitution kinetics of the aquated cations by thiourea nucleophiles indicated that the two aqua ligands are substituted simultaneously according to the rate law: kobs = k2[Nu]. This is followed by a forced dechelation of the ligands from the Pt (II) to form Pt(Nu)42+ species. The dechelation step is considerably slow to be monitored reliably. The rate of substitution is marginally enhanced by introducing two methyl groups and by extending the π-conjugation on the bpq core ligand. The reactivity order increased as bpqPt(OH2)22+ < dmbpqPt(OH2)22+ < bbqPt(OH2)22+. Reactivity trends were well supported by theoretical computed DFT electronic descriptors. The interactions of the Pt(II) complexes with CT-DNA and BSA were also examined spectroscopically in tris buffers at pH 7.2. Spectroscopic and viscosity measurements suggested strong associative interactions between the Pt(II) complexes and CT-DNA, most likely through groove binding. In silico theoretical binding studies showed energetically stable poses through associative non-covalent interactions. In vitro MTT cytotoxicity IC50 values of the Pt(II) complexes on human liver carcinoma cells (HepG2) cancer cell lines revealed bbqPtCl2 as the least active. The fluorescence staining assays revealed the morphological changes suggested early apoptotic induction as well as non-specific necrosis
Malaria transmission-blocking vaccines: wheat germ cell-free technology can accelerate vaccine development
No full textIntroduction: Highly effective malaria vaccines are essential component toward malaria elimination. Although the leading malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01, with modest efficacy is being evaluated in a pilot feasibility trial, development of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) could make a major contribution toward malaria elimination. Only a few TBV antigens have reached pre-clinical or clinical development but with several challenges including difficulties in the expression of malaria recombinant proteins and low immunogenicity in humans. Therefore, novel approaches to accelerate TBV research to preclinical development are critical to generate an efficacious TBV.
Areas covered: PubMed was searched to review the progress and future prospects of malaria TBV research and development. We also reviewed registered trials at ClinicalTrials.gov as well as post-genome TBV candidate discovery research including our efforts.
Expert opinion: Wheat germ cell-free protein synthesis technology can accelerate TBV development by overcoming some current challenges of TBV research
Effects Of Financing Decisions On Performance Of Small Business Enterprises In Kenya
Get PDFMany small business enterprises perform poorly all over the world. The problem is rampant in Kenya where many small firms continuously experience a downward trend in performance. Many factors have been cited in literature for mass failure of these firms. However, the effects of financing decision on performance of small business enterprises in Kenya remain an enigma. Hence, the study sought to establish the effects of financing decisions on performance of small business enterprises in Kenya. The study which was hinged on investment theories adopted a descriptive research design. A population of all the registered 513 small business enterprises in Nyamira County were targeted. Simple random sampling was used to select a random sample of 154 respondents. Secondary data was obtained from annual reports and financial statements of small business enterprises. Primary data was collected using both closed and open ended questionnaires. Simple linear regression analysis was used to model the relationship among the study variables. On the basis of the sample data the study found that financing decision had a significant positive relationship with performance of SMEs. The results of this study are expected to mitigate losses through establishing robust financial management techniques for use in under-performing small business enterprises in Kenya. Moreover, the study could act as a platform for the survival of these firms as well as help them in the assessment of their financial conditions in case of rescue in order to achieve vision 2030 on financial services which is to create a successful and globally competitive financial sector capable of promoting high levels of saving and financing for Kenya’s investment need