Evaluating farm mechanization problems in Tanganyika

As a young nation, Tanganyika\u27s long-run aspiration in. agriculture is to help the majority of African peasant farmers emerge from the partly subsistence economy and partly monetary economy into a cash economy. In such an economy an individual . . farmer can produce to feed and clothe others besides his family

Defining the Genetic Regulation of Appressorium Formation in Cercospora zeae-maydis

Cercospora zeae-maydis is one of the primary pathogens associated with gray leaf spot, one of the most damaging foliar diseases of maize in the world. Gray leaf spot can be managed to some extent by cultural practices and fungicide applications. To infect maize, C. zeae-maydis grows towards stomata and forms infectious structures, termed appressoria, over stomatal pores. Prior research on the pathogen revealed that appressorium formation is crucial for foliar infection. Although several genes involved in pathogenesis have been identified in C. zeae-maydis, the molecular regulation of appressorium formation in this pathogen is poorly understood. Specifically, how the fungus senses stomata and induces appressorium formation are unknown. The goal of this research was to elucidate the genetic regulation of pre-penetration infectious development in C. zeae-maydis. To identify genes involved in appressorium formation, a collection of 1409 genetically tagged random insertional mutants was generated via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and assayed for defects relating to appressorium formation in vitro and in planta. Two mutants were identified that were defective in appressorium formation and pathogenicity on maize leaves. Target enrichment sequencing identified two genes that were disrupted in the mutants: a CAZyme gene of the GH76 family, and a mitogen activated kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) gene belonging to the STE11 family. Targeted deletion mutants of the MEKK-encoding gene failed to form appressoria on maize leaves and were apathogenic, thus confirming a role for the gene in pathogenesis. However, deletion mutants of the GH76 CAZyme formed appressoria and were pathogenic, which suggested that the mutation was not linked to the phenotype of interest. Thus, the key finding of this research implicated a specific MEKK pathway with the regulation of appressorium formation and pathogenesis in C. zeae-maydis

Herpes zoster complicated by phrenic nerve palsy and respiratory compromise

Background: Herpes zoster can be associated with severe neurological complications.Case presentation: In this article, we describe the case of a 54-year-old man with herpes zoster affecting his right upper chest and neck region complicated by phrenic nerve palsy and respiratory compromise. The diagnosis of herpes zoster was made based on the classic appearance of the rash and associated neuropathic-type pain. The diagnosis of phrenic nerve palsy was made by chest x-ray and ultrasound.Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of phrenic nerve palsy occurring in patients who have herpes zoster affecting the region of C3,4,5 dermatomes. Although symptoms of unilateral diaphragmatic paresis are usually mild, in patients with obesity or comorbid lung disease, new onset phrenic nerve palsy can lead to significant respiratory compromise.Keywords: Herpes zoster, neurologic complication, phrenic nerve palsy, case report

Improving Pharmacovigilliance Quality Management System in the Pharmacy and Poisions Board of Kenya

The purpose of this study was to explore ways of improving the pharmacovigilance quality system employed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya employs a hybrid system of pharmacovigilance that utilizes an online system of reporting pharmacovigilance incidences and a physical system, where a yellow book is physically filled by the healthcare worker and sent to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for onward processing. This system, even though it has been relatively effective compared to other systems employed in Africa, has one major flaw. It is a slow and delayed system that captures the data much later after the fact and the agency will always be behind the curve in controlling the adverse incidents and events. This means that the incidences might continue to arise or go out of control. This project attempts to develop a system that would be more proactive in the collection of pharmacovigilance data and more predictive of pharmacovigilance incidences. The pharmacovigilance system should have the capacity to detect and analyze subtle changes in reporting frequencies and in patterns of clinical symptoms and signs that are reported as suspected adverse drug reactions. The method involved carrying out a thorough literature review of the latest trends in pharmacovigilance employed by different regulatory agencies across the world, especially the more stringent regulatory authorities. A review of the system employed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya was also done. Pharmacovigilance data, both primary and secondary, were collected and reviewed. Media reports on adverse drug reactions and poor-quality medicines over the period were also collected and reviewed. An appropriate predictive pharmacovigilance tool was also researched and identified. It was found that the Pharmacy and Poisons Board had a robust system of collecting historical pharmacovigilance data both from the healthcare workers and the general public. However, a more responsive data collection and evaluation system is proposed that will help the agency achieve its pharmacovigilance objectives. On analysis of the data it was found that just above half of all the product complaints, about 55%, involved poor quality medicines; 15% poor performance, 13% presentation, 8% adverse drug reactions, 7% market authorization, 2% expired drugs and 1% adulteration complaints. A regulatory pharmacovigilance prioritization tool was identified, employing a risk impact analysis was proposed for regulatory action

Promoting sexual and reproductive health of sex workers in Kenya: a human rights approach

The right to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health care, is a fundamental human right guaranteed in international human rights law. Enforcement of sexual and reproductive health rights engage the right to information, the right to life, the right to privacy, the right to health, the right to education and to non-discrimination. However, enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health rights remains weak in Africa and other parts of the world. Women in Africa particularly female sex workers face a myriad of challenges that have severe impact on their lives, even, where rights to sexual and reproductive health have been incorporated in their countries’ Constitutions. Currently, while research in Kenya has focused on sex workers, it has been limited to their criminalisation. This thesis contributes to the body of research on sexual and reproductive health rights in the African continent. The thesis focuses on the potential of rights-based laws and policies to advance sex workers’ health leading to their greater empowerment. The thesis examines whether the adoption of a human rights approach can guarantee sexual and reproductive health of sex workers specifically in Kenya. It employs a sociolegal and empirical research method to conduct focus group and individual interviews with sex workers and professionals working directly and indirectly with them, including the police and the Division of Reproductive Health in the Ministry of Health in Kenya The research uses transnational feminist legal theory to analyse the experiences of sex workers in the global south and to articulate the significance of international human rights law to this field of inquiry. The thesis identifies the legal and policy barriers that impede sex workers’ enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health rights. The feminist research method illuminates the voices of sex workers to show the difference between what is framed in international human rights instruments, national laws and policies, and the reality of practice in Kenya. To address this gap, the thesis suggests ways in which rights-based laws and policies can be meaningfully utilised to advance women’s sexual and reproductive health rights and to alleviate inequalities and discriminatory practices in the provision of dignified health care especially to the sex workers

Composite poly(dimethoxyaniline) electrochemical nanobiosensor for glufosinate and glyphosate herbicides

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDIn this thesis, I present a simple, sensitive and low cost electrochemical nanobiosensor for quantitative determination of the herbicides glufosinate, glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). Firstly, the nanostructured poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) (PDMA) materials were synthesized on gold electrode by the electrochemical "template"method using poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) as the dopant and structure-directing molecule. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies inferred successful doping of the nanostructured PDMA film by PSS and that the template PSS directed the synthesis of both nanotubes and nanoparticles of PDMA with diameters less than 100 nm.South Afric

Toward a Hydro-Economic Approach for Risk Assessment and Mitigation Planning of Water Disasters in Semi-Arid Kenya

This study evaluates hydro-geomorphologic risks, and social and economic impacts associated with farming and water use in dry and marginal lands. Hydro-economic risk assessment offers a novel framework towards sustainable management of agricultural water in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL). The risk assessment conducted in Muooni Dam Catchment of Kenya utilized a “hydro-economic” procedure to assess risks related to farming activity, water and land use. The process provides for mitigation planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of water disasters in the catchment area, focusing on effects of farming on water and land, social welfare and economic efficiency

A discourse analysis of gender in the public health curriculum in sub-Saharan Africa

Gender inequalities are still widely pervasive and deeply institutionalised, particularly in Africa, where the burden of disease is highly gendered. The public health sector has been slow in responding to and addressing gender as a determinant of health. The purpose of this inquiry was to gain a deeper insight into the different ways in which gender was represented in the public health curriculum in sub-Saharan Africa. A qualitative inquiry was undertaken on gender in the curriculum in nine autonomous schools of public health in sub-Saharan Africa. Official curriculum documents were analysed and in-depth interviews were held with fourteen staff members of two schools that served as case studies. A content analysis of the data was carried out, followed by discourse analysis. A poststructuralist theoretical framework was used as the ‘lens’ for interpreting the findings. Most of the official curricula were ‘layered’, with gender not appearing on the surface. Gender was represented mainly as an implicit discourse and appeared explicitly in only one core course and a few elective modules. The overwhelmingly dominant discourse in the official curricula was the ‘woman’ discourse, with a strong emphasis on the reproductive and maternal roles of women, while discourses on men, sexuality and power relations seemed to be marginalised. Gender discourses that emerged from the in-depth interviews with participants were lodged in biological, social and academic discourses on gender. The dominant discourses revolved around sexual difference and role differences based on sex. Participants drew on societal discourses (family, culture and religion), academic discourses and their lived experiences to explain their understandings of gender. Their narratives on the teaching of gender showed that gender was not taught or received a low priority and that it was insufficiently addressed in the public health curriculum. Barriers to teaching gender were: lack of knowledge, resources and commitment; resistance; and competing priorities. From this study it emerged that curriculum and the production of gender knowledge are sites of struggle that result in multiple understandings of gender that are manifest in dominant and marginalised discourses. Prevailing institutional power relations mirror dominant societal and political discourses that have a fundamental effect on curriculum decisions and resource allocations. This interplay between dominant discourses and power relations, underpinned by a strong biomedical paradigm, could explain the positioning of gender as an implicit representation in the curriculum, with a more explicit focus on gender in the elective modules than in the compulsory or core courses. Being implicitly represented, gender does not compete with other priorities for additional resources. It is recommended that the public health curriculum be reconceptualised by: accommodating multiple understandings of gender; questioning constructed dominant gender discourses; considering broader, varied and complex social, cultural, economic, historical and political contexts in which gender is constructed and experienced; and moving from curriculum technicalities to understanding the curriculum as a process and not a product.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010.School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)Unrestricte

Implementation of the two-thirds gender rule in Kenya: an analysis of the two-thirds gender rule law (amendment) bill, 2015

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Laws Degree, Strathmore University Law SchoolThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the two-thirds gender rule in Kenya and to determine whether there are sufficient mechanisms ~o implement it. This will be done through an analysis of the two-thirds gender rule law (amendment) bill. The two-thirds gender rule was included in the Constitution 2010. 1This analysis will focus on the affirmative action programmes contemplated in the Constitution of Kenya.2 The methodology used to undertake the research is qualitative through library and online research