Preparation Of Calcium Aluminate-Spinel Synthetic Aggregates Using Electrostatic Precipitated Dolomite DustAnd Calcined Alumina

Calcium alumniate-spinel phases have been developed for synthetic aggregate from ESP dolomite dust and calcined alumina. A huge amount of dolomite dust is collected at electrostatic precipitator (ESP) during dead burning of raw dolomite in Rotary Kiln. This dust is waste material and does not have any practical use in refractory plants. The Present thesis focuses the utilization of these waste dolomite dust for the development of value added calcium aluminate spinel aggregates. Dolomite is a double carbonate of calcium and magnesium. An attempt has been made to different calcium aluminates and spinel aggregates by solid state reaction between the ESP precipitated dolomite dust and calcined alumina. The phase formation behaviour has been reported from the study of the XRD diffraction pattern as function of calcination temperature. The different physical properties of the aggregated have also been reported

Diagnóstico sócio-ambiental da bacia do rio Palmeirinha - Campina Grande do Sul - PR

Resumo: A presente pesquisa se refere à bacia hidrográfica do rio Palmeirinha, localizada na porção leste/nordeste do primeiro planalto do estado do Paraná, no município de Campina Grande do Sul. Esta bacia de drenagem é representada por sete cartas topográficas na escala 1:10.000, as quais foram obtidas junto à Coordenação da Região Metropolitana de Curitiba - COMEC, 2004. A partir destas extraíram-se os dados referentes às curvas de nível, pontos cotados e rede hidrográfica, indispensáveis para a elaboração das cartas temáticas utilizadas na pesquisa. Elaborar um zoneamento ambiental que possibilite analisar e avaliar as condições sócio-ambientais da referida área consiste no objetivo principal do trabalho. Sendo assim, adaptando a metodologia desenvolvida por Mendonça (1999), a qual se baseia na Teoria Geral dos Sistemas, será analisada a área de pesquisa integrando os processos naturais e antrópicos. Por se tratar de uma pesquisa sócioambiental, a desigual distribuição de renda é analisada como agravante das condições de utilização dos recursos hídricos, como o lançamento de esgotos domésticos diretamente nos cursos d'água pela população local bem como o uso indevido das margens dos rios. O diagnóstico da referida bacia será associado aos aspectos geomorfológicos, resultando na elaboração de várias cartas temáticas utilizadas para propor o zoneamento sócio-ambiental e uma carta síntese, a partir da qual é possível subsidiar as ações de planejamento e gestão, baseada na sustentabilidade e na legislação ambiental existente

Comparison Of Survival Models And Estimation Of Their Parameters With Respect To Mortality in a Given Population .

In  this  research, we consider three  different  survival models  under   the assumption  of Gompertz  model as the baseline  distribution. We compare the fitting results of the Exponential distribution , the Gompertz distribution and the Gompertz - Makeham  model in a given  population. As the human lifespan decreases, more and more people are becoming interested in mortality rates at higher ages.   The  aim  of   this  study  is  to   estimate     the  robust  and  reliable    estimates  of  level   and   trend     in   mortality   in  Homa-Bay county , Kenya  .  The purpose of this study is to find out if the population  of  Homa-Bay area in Nyanza Province fits the Gompertz model and also to compare different survival models parametrically   in  a  population. And  also  to  determine the relationship between death  rate  and  age  in the area. . Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) is used to identify the best model. The expected output is that   the preferred model is the one which satisfies the characteristics of the given population. Keywords: Gompertz distribution, Gompertz-Makeham Model , Expected life time, Force of mortality, AIC,  Stochastic process

Analysis of the Influence of Institutional Dynamics on Juvenile Criminality in Nakuru Sub-County, Kenya

The present study was prompted by the observation that there was very high prevalence of juvenile criminality in Kenya. This study focused on analyzing the influence of institutional dynamics on juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county, Kenya. The target population for the study was 144 that included 73 police officers from Bondeni police station, 35 juveniles drawn from children remand home, 35 parents/guardians of the said juveniles, and 1 chief from Bondeni location. The researcher selected a sample size of 102 respondents composed of 62 police officers, 32 juveniles, 7 parents/guardians, and 1 chief. The researcher used a questionnaire and an interview schedule to collect views. The validity of this study was achieved through a thorough consultation with the supervisors and other specialist. Reliability was used to focus on the degree to which empirical indicators are stable and consistent. A Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was used to measure the reliability of the research instruments. An alpha coefficient value of 0.6 suggested the instrument is reliable. The study adopted the mixed research methodology and the concurrent triangulation design. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study found out that there was an important positive association between all the measures of institutional dynamics and juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county. The study concluded that there was an influence of institutional dynamics and juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county, Kenya. The study recommends that the government should make efforts in making families functional in order to reduce juvenile criminality. There is therefore need for juvenile department to improve on their policies and expected performance in regard to juvenile criminality. Keywords: Kenya, Nakuru, Biological dynamics, crime, doliincapax, economic dynamics, government dynamics, juvenile, social dynamics, urban. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/97-07 Publication date:May 31st 202

An Application Of Extreme Value Theory In Modelling Electricity Production In Kenya

Extreme Value Theory provides a well-established statistical model for the computation of extreme risk measure which includes, Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall. In this paper we apply Univariate Extreme Value Theory to model extreme production for the Kenyan Electricity. We demonstrate that Extreme value theory can successfully be applied in predicting future Value at Risk to the electricity production. This will provide solutions to the problems faced by producers and consumers in the electricity market. In this paper Value at Risk is estimated using a Peak Over Threshold method. This technique models the distribution of exceedances over a high threshold rather than the individual observations. It concentrates on observation that exceeds central limits, focusing on the tail of the distribution. Extreme value theory is also applied to compute the tail risk measures at given confidence interval.  An overview of the Extreme Value Theory and Peaks Over Threshold Method are also given. These methods are applied to electricity production in Kenya and the data exhibit some trend and modeled as a Gumbel distribution since the shape parameter is not significantly different from zero. Keywords: Risk Modeling, Value at Risk, Extreme Value Theory

An exploratory study of community factors relevant for participatory malaria control on Rusinga Island, western Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Capacity strengthening of rural communities, and the various actors that support them, is needed to enable them to lead their own malaria control programmes. Here the existing capacity of a rural community in western Kenya was evaluated in preparation for a larger intervention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews were carried out in 1,451 households to determine (1) demographics of respondent and household; (2) socio-economic status of the household; (3) knowledge and beliefs about malaria (symptoms, prevention methods, mosquito life cycle); (4) typical practices used for malaria prevention; (5) the treatment-seeking behaviour and household expenditure for malaria treatment; and (6) the willingness to prepare and implement community-based vector control.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Malaria was considered a major threat to life but relevant knowledge was a chimera of scientific knowledge and traditional beliefs, which combined with socio-economic circumstances, leads to ineffective malaria prevention. The actual malaria prevention behaviour practiced by community members differed significantly from methods known to the respondents. Beside bednet use, the major interventions implemented were bush clearing and various hygienic measures, even though these are ineffective for malaria prevention. Encouragingly, most respondents believed malaria could be controlled and were willing to contribute to a community-based malaria control program but felt they needed outside assistance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Culturally sensitive but evidence-based education interventions, utilizing participatory tools, are urgently required which consider traditional beliefs and enable understanding of causal connections between mosquito ecology, parasite transmission and the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Community-based organizations and schools need to be equipped with knowledge through partnerships with national and international research and tertiary education institutions so that evidence-based research can be applied at the grassroots level.</p

Profile : the rusinga health and demographic surveillance system, western Kenya

The health and demographic surveillance system on Rusinga Island, Western Kenya, was initiated in 2012 to facilitate a malaria intervention trial: the SolarMal project. The project aims to eliminate malaria from Rusinga Island using the nationwide adopted strategy for malaria control (insecticide-treated bed nets and case management) augmented with mass trapping of anopheline mosquitoes. The main purpose of the health and demographic surveillance is to measure the effectiveness of the trial on clinical malaria incidence, and to monitor demographic, environmental and malaria-related data variables. At the end of 2014, the 44 km(2) island had a population of approximately 25 000 individuals living in 8746 residential structures. Three times per year, all individuals are followed up and surveyed for clinical malaria. Following each round of surveillance, a randomly selected cross-section of the population is subject to a rapid diagnostic test to measure malaria. Additionally, extensive monitoring of malaria vectors is performed. Data collection and management are conducted using the OpenHDS platform, with tablet computers and applications with advanced software connected to a centralized database. Besides the general demographic information, other health-related data are collected which can be used to facilitate a range of other studies within and outside the current project. Access to the core dataset can be obtained on request from the authors

Co-developed implementation guidelines to maximize acceptability, feasibility, and usability of mobile phone supervision in Kenya

Opportunities exist to leverage mobile phones to replace or supplement in-person supervision of lay counselors. However, contextual variables, such as network connectivity and provider preferences, must be considered. Using an iterative and mixed methods approach, we co-developed implementation guidelines to support the implementation of mobile phone supervision with lay counselors and supervisors delivering a culturally adapted trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in Western Kenya. Guidelines were shared and discussed with lay counselors in educational outreach visits led by supervisors. We evaluated the impact of guidelines and outreach on the acceptability, feasibility, and usability of mobile phone supervision. Guidelines were associated with significant improvements in acceptability and usability of mobile phone supervision. There was no evidence of a significant difference in feasibility. Qualitative interviews with lay counselors and supervisors contextualized how guidelines impacted acceptability and feasibility – by setting expectations for mobile phone supervision, emphasizing importance, increasing comfort, and sharing strategies to improve mobile phone supervision. Introducing and discussing co-developed implementation guidelines significantly improved the acceptability and usability of mobile phone supervision. This approach may provide a flexible and scalable model to address challenges with implementing evidence-based practices and implementation strategies in lower-resourced areas