Determinants of Early Weaning of Infants Below Six Months Among Lactating Mothers at Wajir County Referral Hospital.

Breastfeeding is one of the most important determinants of child survival, birth spacing and the prevention of childhood infections. The beneficial effects of breastfeeding depend on its initiation, duration and the age at which the breastfed child is weaned. Little information exists on breastfeeding and infant feeding practices in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya included. The aim of this study was therefore to asses weaning practices that influencing lactating mothers to early weaning of infants below six months. A cross sectional study was conducted in Wajir County Referral Hospital. A total of 100 respondents were included in the study. All mothers coming to immunization clinics for their childre

Acceptability of evidence-based neonatal care practices in rural Uganda – implications for programming

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although evidence-based interventions to reach the Millennium Development Goals for Maternal and Neonatal mortality reduction exist, they have not yet been operationalised and scaled up in Sub-Saharan African cultural and health systems. A key concern is whether these internationally recommended practices are acceptable and will be demanded by the target community. We explored the acceptability of these interventions in two rural districts of Uganda.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted 10 focus group discussions consisting of mothers, fathers, grand parents and child minders (older children who take care of other children). We also did 10 key informant interviews with health workers and traditional birth attendants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most maternal and newborn recommended practices are acceptable to both the community and to health service providers. However, health system and community barriers were prevalent and will need to be overcome for better neonatal outcomes. Pregnant women did not comprehend the importance of attending antenatal care early or more than once unless they felt ill. Women prefer to deliver in health facilities but most do not do so because they cannot afford the cost of drugs and supplies which are demanded in a situation of poverty and limited male support. Postnatal care is non-existent. For the newborn, delayed bathing and putting nothing on the umbilical cord were neither acceptable to parents nor to health providers, requiring negotiation of alternative practices.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The recommended maternal-newborn practices are generally acceptable to the community and health service providers, but often are not practiced due to health systems and community barriers. Communities associate the need for antenatal care attendance with feeling ill, and postnatal care is non-existent in this region. Health promotion programs to improve newborn care must prioritize postnatal care, and take into account the local socio-cultural situation and health systems barriers including the financial burden. Male involvement and promotion of waiting shelters at selected health units should be considered in order to increase access to supervised deliveries. Scale-up of the evidence based practices for maternal-neonatal health in Sub-Saharan Africa should follow rapid appraisal and adaptation of intervention packages to address the local health system and socio-cultural situation.</p

Nutrient enrichment of pineapple waste using Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride by solid state fermentation

The enrichment by microbial fermentation of agro industrial waste to alleviate their nutritional problems has been proposed but the nutritional value of the subsequent feed for animal consumption has not been fully elucidated. This study investigates whether solid state fermentation of pineapple waste using the fungi Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride could improve its nutrient content. Results show that fermentation of pineapple waste by solid state fermentation using the fungi A. niger and T. viride significantly (P &lt; 0.05) enriches the nutrient content of the waste, particularly increasing the crude protein and ash content while lowering the crude fiber content. The most significant nutrient enrichment was recorded at 72 h of fermentation using A. niger and at 96 h of fermentation using T. viride. Indiscernible changes were noted in the mineral content of pineapple waste (PW). Dry matter increased significantly (P &lt; 0.05) as fermentation progressed with the highest values recorded at 96 h. This study establishes no significant differences (P &gt; 0.05) in the fermentation abilities of the two fungi, A. niger and T. viride. Fermented pineapple waste may be a potential supplement in compounding animal feed provided that it is acceptable and highly digestible.Keywords: Agro industrial waste, crude fiber, crude protein

IMPACT OF LAND USE ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND DIVERSITY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES IN EMBU AND TAITA DISTRICTS, KENYA

Natural entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are considered as potential biological control agents against soil-borne insect pests. This study was conducted to determine the impact of land use on the distribution, occurrence and diversity of entomopathogenic nematode community. Isolation of EPNs was done using the baiting technique and application of morphological identification methods revealed presence of the genus Steinernema. Land use intensification negatively affected the occurrence and recovery frequency in soils of Embu and Taita districts. The occurrence of EPNs was high in soils from coffee than maize and beans which had more nematodes than planted forest and napier grass followed by natural forest and tea respectively. PCR-RFLP of the internal transcribed spacer region on the ribosomal(r) DNA of the EPN isolates and digestion of the products by Alu I enzyme showed molecular variations among the isolates. The study has demonstrated that the frequency of occurrence and species variation of EPNs is different in various land uses

Overexpression of rice thaumatin-like protein (Ostlp) gene in transgenic cassava results in enhanced tolerance to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. manihotis

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is the most important staple food for more than 300 million people in Africa, and anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. manihotis is the most destructive fungal disease affecting cassava production in sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of this study was to improve anthracnose resistance in cassava through genetic engineering. Transgenic cassava plants harbouring rice thaumatin-like protein (Ostlp) gene, driven by the constitutive CaMV35S promoter, were generated using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of friable embryogenic calli (FEC) of cultivar TMS 60444. Molecular analysis confirmed the presence, integration, copy number of the transgene all the independent transgenic events. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR confirmed high expression levels of Ostlp in six transgenic lines tested. The antifungal activity of the transgene against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides pathogen was evaluated using the leaves and stem cuttings bioassay. The results demonstrated significantly delayed disease development and reduced size of necrotic lesions in leaves and stem cuttings of all transgenic lines compared to the leaves and stem cuttingss of non-transgenic control plants. Therefore, constitutive overexpression of rice thaumatin-like protein in transgenic cassava confers enhanced tolerance to the fungal pathogen C. gloeosporioides f. sp. manihotis. These results can therefore serve as an initial step towards genetic engineering of farmer-preffered cassava cultivars for resistance to anthracnose disease. Keywords: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. manihotis, Thaumatin-like protein, Transgenic cassav

CD4 T-cell expression of IFN-γ and IL-17 in pediatric malarial anemia

<div><p>In <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> holoendemic transmission regions of western Kenya, life-threatening pediatric malaria manifests primarily as severe malarial anemia (SMA, Hb≤6.0 g/dL with any density parasitemia). To determine the role that CD4+ T-cell-driven inflammatory responses have in the pathogenesis of SMA, peripheral CD4+ T-cell populations and their intracellular production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-17) were characterized in children aged 12–36 months of age stratified into two groups: non-severe malarial anemia (non-SMA, Hb≥6.0 g/dL, <i>n</i> = 50) and SMA (<i>n</i> = 39). In addition, circulating IFN-γ and IL-17 were measured as part of a Cytokine 25-plex Antibody Bead Kit, Human (BioSource™ International). Children with SMA had higher overall proportions of circulating lymphocytes (<i>P</i> = 0.003) and elevated proportions of lymphocytes expressing IFN-γ (<i>P</i> = 0.014) and comparable IL-17 (<i>P</i> = 0.101). In addition, SMA was characterized by decreased memory-like T-cells (CD4+CD45RA-) expressing IL-17 (<i>P</i> = 0.009) and lower mean fluorescence intensity in memory-like CD4+ T-cells for both IFN-γ (<i>P</i> = 0.063) and IL-17 (<i>P</i> = 0.006). Circulating concentrations of IFN-γ were higher in children with SMA (<i>P</i> = 0.009), while IL-17 levels were comparable between the groups (<i>P</i> = 0.164). Furthermore, circulating levels of IFN-γ were negatively correlated with IL-17 levels in both groups of children (SMA: r = -0.610, <i>P</i> = 0.007; and non-SMA: r = -0.516, <i>P</i> = 0.001), while production of both cytokines by lymphocytes were positively correlated (SMA: r = 0.349, <i>P</i> = 0.037; and non-SMA: r = 0.475, <i>P</i> = 0.001). In addition, this correlation was only maintained by the memory-like CD4+ T cells (r = 0.365, <i>P</i> = 0.002) but not the naïve-like CD4+ T cells. However, circulating levels of IFN-γ were only associated with naïve-like CD4+ T cells producing IFN-γ (r = 0.547, <i>P</i> = 0.028), while circulating levels of IL-17 were not associated with any of the cell populations. Taken together, these results suggest that enhanced severity of malarial anemia is associated with higher overall levels of circulating lymphocytes, enhanced intracellular production of IFN-γ by peripheral lymphocytes and high circulating IFN-γ levels. In addition, the observed inverse relationship between the circulating levels of IFN-γ and IL-17 together with the reduction in the levels of memory-like CD4+ T cells expressing IL-17 in children with SMA may suggest possible relocation of these cells in the deeper tissues for their pathological effect.</p></div

Circulating levels of IFN-γ and IL-17 in children with differing malarial anemia severity.

<p>Box-plots depict the data where the box represents the interquartile range, the line through the box is the median, and whiskers illustrate the 10th and 90th percentiles. Circulating IFN-γ (<i>n</i> = 64; non-SMA = 42; SMA = 22) and IL-17 (<i>n</i> = 64; non-SMA = 42; SMA = 22) concentrations were determined in plasma using the human Cytokine 25-plex Ab Bead Kit, (BioSource™ International) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Plates were read on a Luminex 100™ system (Luminex Corporation) and analyzed using the Bio-Plex Manager Software (Bio-Rad Laboratories). Between groups comparisons in the clinical categories were performed by Mann-Whitney U tests. <b>(A)</b> Circulating IFN-γ levels between non-SMA and SMA. <b>(B)</b> Circulating IL-17 levels between non-SMA and SMA.</p

Memory-like CD4+ T-cells expressing IFN-γ and IL-17 in acute malaria.

<p>Data are presented as proportions (%). The proportions were determined by flow cytometry immediately after staining. The proportions of different lymphocyte populations were determined using Flowjo Software (TreeStar, Ashland, OR, USA). The line in the middle represents the median value. Between groups comparisons were performed by Mann-Whitney U test. The proportion of CD4+ T-cells was comparable between the groups (data not shown). <b>(A)</b> The proportion of naïve-like CD4+ T-cells expressing IFN-γ was comparable between the groups. <b>(B)</b> The proportion of naïve-like CD4+ T-cells expressing IL-17 was comparable between the groups. <b>(C)</b> The proportion of memory-like CD4+ T-cells expressing IFN-γ was comparable between the groups. <b>(D)</b> The proportion of memory-like CD4+ T-cells expressing IL-17 was decreased in SMA relative to non-SMA group.</p

Intensity of IFN-γ and IL-17 production by memory-like CD4+ T-cells.

<p>Data are presented as mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). The MFI was determined by FlowJo Software (TreeStar, Ashland, OR, USA). The line in the middle represents the median value. Between groups comparisons in the clinical categories were performed by Mann-Whitney U tests. <b>(A)</b> MFI of IFN-γ in CD4+CD45RA- cells. <b>(B)</b> MFI of IL-17 in CD4+CD45RA- cells.</p

Demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of study participants.

<p>Demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of study participants.</p