Records Management Policy in Enhancing Governance in Homa Bay County Headquarters, Kenya

Globally, records management plays major role in enhancing governance. The study objective was to examine the role of records management policy in enhancing governance at Homa Bay (HB) County Headquarters, Kenya. Target population comprised of 306 employees who are the custodians of records within the County Headquarters. Stratified technique was used to classify employees into strata. Yamane simplified formula was used to obtain a sample size of 174 respondents, which was proportionately distributed per department using random sampling technique. Structured questionnaires and interview schedules were pretested to determine validity and reliability and thereafter employed to collect data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of IBM – SPSS (Version 23), presented in a table and interpreted in mean, frequencies, percentages, and standard deviation. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The finding showed that records management policy was available in HB, though some employees were unaware. The study concluded that records managers in HB County should instill awareness among staff on the importance of records management policy. Based on the finding and conclusion, the study recommends, firstly, that HB records managers should ensure records management policy is properly documented and shared with all employees managing records with a view of increasing efficiency in the information flow thus enhancing governance and secondly, HB would identify areas of weakness in records management policy and focus on improvement

NASCArrays: a repository for microarray data generated by NASC’s transcriptomics service

NASC operates an Affymetrix ‘GeneChip’ (microarray) service for the Arabidopsis thaliana community. All data produced by the service are publicly available through our microarray data base ‘NASCArrays’ published at http://affymetrix.arabidopsis.info. The data are accessible through text searching and a series of data mining tools. All data are annotated with sample preparation details, and the original Affymetrix data are available for download. The database aims to be MIAME supportive and provide a coordinated resource for re searchers interested in the transcriptome of Arabidopsis. Using this database, data produced will be shared with other databases worldwide

Partial Agonists of the α3β4* Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Reduce Ethanol Consumption and Seeking in Rats

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) impact millions of individuals and there remain few effective treatment strategies. Despite evidence that neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have a role in AUDs, it has not been established which subtypes of the nAChR are involved. Recent human genetic association studies have implicated the gene cluster CHRNA3–CHRNA5–CHRNB4 encoding the α3, α5, and β4 subunits of the nAChR in susceptibility to develop nicotine and alcohol dependence; however, their role in ethanol-mediated behaviors is unknown due to the lack of suitable and selective research tools. To determine the role of the α3, and β4 subunits of the nAChR in ethanol self-administration, we developed and characterized high-affinity partial agonists at α3β4 nAChRs, CP-601932, and PF-4575180. Both CP-601932 and PF-4575180 selectively decrease ethanol but not sucrose consumption and operant self-administration following long-term exposure. We show that the functional potencies of CP-601932 and PF-4575180 at α3β4 nAChRs correlate with their unbound rat brain concentrations, suggesting that the effects on ethanol self-administration are mediated via interaction with α3β4 nAChRs. Also varenicline, an approved smoking cessation aid previously shown to decrease ethanol consumption and seeking in rats and mice, reduces ethanol intake at unbound brain concentrations that allow functional interactions with α3β4 nAChRs. Furthermore, the selective α4β2* nAChR antagonist, DHβE, did not reduce ethanol intake. Together, these data provide further support for the human genetic association studies, implicating CHRNA3 and CHRNB4 genes in ethanol-mediated behaviors. CP-601932 has been shown to be safe in humans and may represent a potential novel treatment for AUDs