An invitro antimicrobial activity and Bioactivities of Protein Isolated from Marine Sponge – Callyspongia sp.

The marine sponge Callyspongia sp, collected from Mandapam coast, Tamilnadu, was studied for antibacterial and antifungal activity of proteins. Sponge species were identified based on spicules morphology. Chloroform and aqueous extracts of Callyspongia sp yielded a total amount of 4.8g and 5.98g from 500g of sponge respectively. Crude protein obtained from marine sponge aqueous extract was 2.1 mg/ml and that of chloroform extract was 0.9 mg/ml. The antimicrobial activity of chloroform extract and aqueous extract showed clear inhibition zone against Pseudomonas sp. Vibrio cholerae, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. Both the extracts exhibited hemolytic activity which was estimated as 10.1ht/ml for chloroform extract and 8.6ht/ml for aqueous extract. The partial purification of protein was carried out using DEAE cellulose. On SDS-PAGE the crude protein yielded three well defined bands at 109.9, 28.2, 12.4 KDa respectively by both the extracts

The efficacy of retirement plans and flexible scheduling in improving the quality of service delivery among civil servants in Nandi south Kenya

Retirement plans and flexible scheduling guides most organizations and is part of most complaints of citizen’s due to poor service in government counties such complaints was reflected during the year 2002 Constitutional Referendum in Kenya which in part called for an overhaul of the civil service structure through various Civil Service Reform Programmes and major reshuffles. This paper highlighted therefore the effects of these variables in service delivery within Civil Service offices in Kenya: A case of Nandi south. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 350 employees of Nandi south. Data collected through the use of questionnaires was analyzed using both descriptive and regression statistics. Descriptive findings revealed that there was low level of retirement plan services to the employees of Nandi south. Nevertheless, high levels of Flexible Scheduling services among employees were observed an indicator that retirement plans in the Workplace had significant effect on Service Delivery. Keywords: Services Delivery, Workplace, Retirement Plans and Flexible Schedulin

The efficacy of retirement plans and flexible scheduling in improving the quality of service delivery among civil servants in Nandi south Kenya

Retirement plans and flexible scheduling guides most organizations and is part of most complaints of citizen’s due to poor service in government counties such complaints was reflected during the year 2002 Constitutional Referendum in Kenya which in part called for an overhaul of the civil service structure through various Civil Service Reform Programmes and major reshuffles. This paper highlighted therefore the effects of these variables in service delivery within Civil Service offices in Kenya: A case of Nandi south. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 350 employees of Nandi south. Data collected through the use of questionnaires was analyzed using both descriptive and regression statistics. Descriptive findings revealed that there was low level of retirement plan services to the employees of Nandi south. Nevertheless, high levels of Flexible Scheduling services among employees were observed an indicator that retirement plans in the Workplace had significant effect on Service Delivery. Keywords: Services Delivery, Workplace, Retirement Plans and Flexible Schedulin

Technology development and field testing: access to credit to allow smallholder dairy farmers in central Kenya to reallocate concentrates during lactation

A field trial with smallholder dairy farmers in central Kenya was carried out to study the feasibility of reallocating concentrates as a means of increasing the profitability of milk production. Researchers designed the trial with extension officers, dairy co-operative and feed company staff to ensure that all stakeholders and key players were involved. Central to the design was the provision of feed on credit from the dairy co-operative to its members, the volunteer farmers involved in the study. The role of the research team was to present the technology to the farmers and monitor the implementation and impact. Farmers were not constrained in the way they chose to implement the recommendations, but the research team monitored any modifications as well as recording production parameters and characteristics of the farm and feed management systems likely to explain underlying variation. The recommendation was to feed 8 kg/day in early lactation, withdrawing concentrates completely after twelve weeks so that during the course of lactation the amount fed would be equivalent to the most frequent farmer practice, a flat rate of 2 kg/day. Actual quantities offered by most farmers were reported to be higher than in previous lactations, but varied from 2-10 kg/day. Although some decreased the amount offered between 8-12 weeks post lactation most continued with the higher levels until a drop in milk yield was observed. Milk production increased as a result of the intervention with a large part of the variation in milk yield (r2 = 0.55) reflecting the amount of concentrate offered. Month of calving and sampling also influenced the production response For many smallholder dairy farmers one of the key constraints to making technological changes expected to improve production is the lack of credit to allow them to make investments. The results so far available from our study showed that farmers were able to increase their milk yield as a result of the intervention, and that, as expected, the response depended on the level of concentrate offered

Terrestrial pyrogenic carbon export to fluvial ecosystems: lessons learned from the White Nile watershed of East Africa

Pyrogenic carbon (PyC) is important because of its role in the global organic C (OC) cycle and in modifying soil properties. However, our understanding of PyC movement from terrestrial to fluvial ecosystems is not robust. This study examined (i)whether erosion or subsurface transport wasmore important for PyC export from headwaters, (ii) whether PyC was exported preferentially to total OC (TOC), and (iii) whether themovement of PyC from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems provides an explanation for the coupling of PyC and non-PyC observed in rivers at a global scale. In the Guineo-Congolian highland forest region of western Kenya, duplicate catchments with sizes of 1–12 ha were equipped with stream gauges in primary forest and adjacent mixed agricultural landscapes that were cleared by fire 10, 16, or 62 years before. Stream water samples were taken weekly throughout 1 year and compared with runoff to assess PyC movement. Additional stream samples were taken fromall major tributaries of theWhite Nile watershed of Lake Victoria. PyC was not found to be preferentially eroded relative to TOC or non-PyC, as topsoil (0–0.15m) PyC concentrations (6.3 ± 0.3% of TOC; means and standard errors) were greater than runoff sediment (1.9 ± 0.4%) and dissolved PyC concentrations (2.0 ± 0.4%, n= 252). In addition, PyC proportions in eroded sediment were lower than and uncorrelated (r2=0.04; P= 0.14) with topsoil PyC. An enrichment of PyC was found with depth in the soil, from 6.3 ± 0.3% of TOC in the topsoil (0–0.15 m) to 12.3 ± 0.3% of TOC at 1–2m. Base flow PyC proportions of TOC correlated well with subsoil PyC (r2=0.57; P0.05). Similar PyC proportions were found in the studied headwater streams (2.7 ± 0.2%), their downstream inflow into Lake Victoria (3.7%), the other ninemajor rivers into Lake Victoria (4.9 ± 0.8%), and its outflow into the White Nile (1.1%). A strong positive correlation between dissolved PyC and non-PyC (r2 = 0.91; P<0.0001) in the headwater streams reflect relationships previously seen for a range of globally important rivers, and contrasts with a negative relationship for suspended sediments (r2 = 0.5; P<0.0001). The estimated PyC export from the Lake Victoria watershed of 11 Gg yr 1may therefore originate to a large extent from subsoil pathways in dissolved form that appeared to be animportant source of PyC in aquatic environments and may explain the coupling of PyC and non-PyC at a global scale