Synthesis and Development of Potential CB1 Receptor Neutral Antagonists

Cannabis and its derivatives have been used for both medicinal and recreational purposes. The study of this plant led to the discovery of over 60 cannabinoids, found exclusively in cannabis, that contribute to the behavioral effects of cannabis use, the most common is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Cannabinoid receptors function to increase activity in the mesolimbic dopamine reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in addition and its regulation plays a crucial role in mental and physical well-being. There is evidence that CB1 receptors are important to the reinforcing effects and the development of physical dependence on opiate drugs. Studies have shown that increased levels of dopamine are consistent with addiction while reduced levels lead to a decline in recreational use. The goal of this research is to design, synthesize and develop potential CB1 receptors that exhibit a neutral cannabinoid antagonist pharmacological profile

'Nai-rob-me Nai-beg-me Nai-shanty: Historicizing Space-Subjectivity Connections in Nairobi from its Ruins

What can personal histories from poor urban settlements in Nairobi tell us about the history and future of this city? How do these entangled life stories belie vogue narratives of phenomena such as rural-urban migration, urban-development and postcoloniality, while also shedding light on the durability of empire? Through an ethnographic and archival exploration of the poor urban settlement of Mathare, located close to central Nairobi, I argue that urban planning emerges from within an assemblage of imperial political, social, economic and ecological ideas and practices, to produce what I term ecologies of exclusion. In essence, these planning interventions, materializing from within epistemologies of empire, co-constitutively manifest as neglect and force in Nairobis margins to create and sustain inequality in certain neighbourhoodsits ruins. In addition, I show how, both now and in the past, this mode of urban governance conjures up and sustains negative stereotypical subjectivities about certain populations in order to legitimize inequalities within its formal spatial management practices. Furthermore, contemporary colonial modes of urban planning require a constant and ever more forceful militarization of poor urban spaces. Notwithstanding this now naturalized violent space-subjectivity enterprise, those who have long been categorized as the robbers, beggars and shanty dwellers of Nairobi engage with and emerge from these ruins of empire through unexpected ethical and political projects. And, from within their urban struggles, they render alternative subjectivities of self and space that articulate more grounded narrations of the history and possible futures of this city

Synthesis and Development of Potential CB1 Receptor Neutral Antagonists

Cannabis and its derivatives have been used for both medicinal and recreational purposes. The study of this plant led to the discovery of over 60 cannabinoids, found exclusively in cannabis, that contribute to the behavioral effects of cannabis use, the most common is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Cannabinoid receptors function to increase activity in the mesolimbic dopamine reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in addition and its regulation plays a crucial role in mental and physical well-being. There is evidence that CB1 receptors are important to the reinforcing effects and the development of physical dependence on opiate drugs. Studies have shown that increased levels of dopamine are consistent with addiction while reduced levels lead to a decline in recreational use. The goal of this research is to design, synthesize and develop potential CB1 receptors that exhibit a neutral cannabinoid antagonist pharmacological profile

The Impact of Social Media and Digital Technology on Electoral Violence in Kenya

Electoral violence has become synonymous with Kenya’s elections. This acquired deadly proportions during the 2007 elections. However, it was also during this time that social media and digital technology was first used for political reasons including campaigning and polling. Social media and digital technology had mixed uses where it was not only used to propagate hate speech and mobilise for violence, but also to identify and map out violence hotspots. Since then, they have increasingly become an indispensable tool in Kenya’s politics and governance, used by political leaders to spread information, campaign and mobilise. However, the widespread reach of social media has also been a major challenge to security, peace and peacebuilding since it has been used to incite hatred and violence. This paper identifies the specific threats that social media and digital technology pose and opportunities they present for violence prevention. Ultimately, the paper seeks to present the opportunities that exist for partnerships between state and non-state actors to effectively prevent political and electoral violence.ESR

Framework for product and service pricing in a manufacturing firm

This thesis examines the pricing of offerings in an industrial context. The purpose of this thesis is to give suggestions on how to develop the pricing of products and services in the case company. The main research question is: What changes and upgrades are needed towards successful product and service pricing in the case company? The objective is to identify the elements relevant to the pricing of offerings, to estimate how suc-cessfully the elements are implemented in the case company, and to give suggestions for the case company on how to develop their product and service pricing as part of sales. In this research, a constructive research approach was used where the empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. The theoretical part of the study examines the relevant elements in the pricing literature. Based on the litera-ture review an initial framework for service pricing was built to direct the analysis of the empirical data. The empirical part of the research studied the pricing elements de-rived from both the case company’s pricing practices and from previous literature. The main findings of the research were that the case company is considering all of the pricing elements identified in the literature. There were also three new pricing elements found in the empirical research which emerged from interviews and observation rounds. The most important pricing elements proposed for development due to their current weak implementation were: the IT systems, pricing guidelines, and cost estimation. Al-so other improvement needs were identified concerning the other pricing elements and, therefore, a three step process is suggested, to cover the promotion of all the pricing elements needing development in the future. Possible future research topics could study the use of the newly identified elements in the pricing of offerings

Unveiling the mind of Kenyan undergraduates : motives for abortion

9TH Annual ethics conference. Theme : Bioethics medical, legal, environmental and cultural aspects in healthcare ethics at STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY, 25-26 OCTOBER 2012.Abortion has become a highly volatile moral issue in which neutrality proves almost impossible (Novak, 1993). Looking back in time, the concept proves itself not uncommon even to the most primitive societies where feticide for instance, was considered one of the ‘abominations of Egypt’ (Bleich, 1968). For the Kenyan context, this is reflected in what has been termed as ‘female crimes’ whereby abortion accounts for 84% of these crimes by young women aged 16 – 25 years (Njonjo, 2010). With such statistics, it is quite clear why this topic is heavily studied and researched on. It must be highlighted though, that people’s views on abortion reflect their beliefs on fundamentally important issues such as when life begins, when the rights of the fetus become equal to the rights of the mother and whether or not we have complete sovereignty over our own bodies (Gleeson, Forde, Bates, Powell, Jones & Draper, 2008).Abortion has become a highly volatile moral issue in which neutrality proves almost impossible (Novak, 1993). Looking back in time, the concept proves itself not uncommon even to the most primitive societies where feticide for instance, was considered one of the ‘abominations of Egypt’ (Bleich, 1968). For the Kenyan context, this is reflected in what has been termed as ‘female crimes’ whereby abortion accounts for 84% of these crimes by young women aged 16 – 25 years (Njonjo, 2010). With such statistics, it is quite clear why this topic is heavily studied and researched on. It must be highlighted though, that people’s views on abortion reflect their beliefs on fundamentally important issues such as when life begins, when the rights of the fetus become equal to the rights of the mother and whether or not we have complete sovereignty over our own bodies (Gleeson, Forde, Bates, Powell, Jones & Draper, 2008)

‘Only the people can defend this struggle’: the politics of the everyday, extrajudicial executions and civil society in Mathare, Kenya

Though a perennial problem in postcolonial Kenya, extrajudicial executions (EJE) show few signs of ending and in recent years are even accelerating amongst young men in informal settlements. Avenues for legal, institutional and civil society redress, nominally expanded in recent years, display an ongoing tendency towards disconnection from the grassroots. A case study from Mathare, Nairobi, seeks explanations for the lack of urgency in addressing EJE and also the limited effectiveness of responses to them that are rooted in the political economy of interests of civil society actors, which tends to perpetuate these ‘excluded spaces’ of the slum. The authors do so, however, by exploring one particular struggle to show how frustration with civil society is being used by social justice activists to articulate ideas of ‘everyday’ violence to mobilise for change that disrupts the apparent normalisation of EJE

Terrorism as a form of imperialism : a case for the rule of law

ArticleThe war on terror is indeed justified. Terror attacks have resulted in the deaths of many innocent people around the world. Every nation in fact has a duty to protect her citizens from terror attacks and put up measures to prevent and punish terrorists. However, the government also has a duty to uphold the rule of law at all times despite the gravity of the attacks. This paper disputes arguments that terrorism is so novel and so grave that the rule of law can be sacrificed in order to deal with it. This position fails since terrorism is not a novel challenge and further because terrorism manifests itself as a form of imperialism, which is a challenge that has several times been dealt with in world history. Terrorism does not change the normal rules of criminal procedure and thus the rule of law should not be suspended in the name of counter-terrorism

Itsediffuusion atomistinen simulointi kuparipinnalla ulkoisen sähkökentän kanssa ja ilman

Surface diffusion is the major process that can drive metal surface modification in temperatures significantly below the melting point. Diffusion is random movement with the tendency toward minimization of the total free energy. In the absence of external forces, the equilibrium shape of the metal surface is determined by the anisotropy of the surface energies in different orientations. At finite temperatures, anisotropy also in the temperature dependence of the surface free energies, together with the temperature and orientation dependent kinetic rates of surface diffusion events, make metal surface morphology a multifaceted phenomenon involving a range of competing effects. Computational modeling of surface diffusion process is thus challenging in itself, but the task is even further complicated if the surface is subject to external factors. One such factor can be an applied electric field, the electrostatic contribution to the free energy of which alters the equilibrium shape. This is hypothesized to be one of the contributors to the development of surface roughening that further develops into field emitting tips. The latter, in turn, are thought to evolve into vacuum arc breakdowns, occurring in many devices operating in high electric fields. In this work, surface diffusion in Cu with and without electric field was studied by kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) and molecular dynamics (MD). A multitude of encountered obstacles are described, from calculating KMC parameters in the highly heterogeneous surface environments, to the challenge of reaching sufficiently long time scales in MD. The pre-parameterized on-lattice KMC model, chosen for efficiency, was improved by employing machine learning for migration barrier prediction. Better accuracy regarding the stability of small nanostructures on differently oriented surfaces was reached this way, compared to the earlier KMC model. The new model also correctly predicts the relative surface energies in Cu and the fragmentation of crossing nanowires at the junction points. The Cu {110} surface also exhibits a self-roughening instability at elevated temperatures, commonly known to occur in this system both in experiments and MD simulations. For simulations in electric fields, we utilized the coupling of MD to a continuum, finite elements method solver of electric fields and surface charges that was earlier developed in our group. This method enables the imposition of a realistic electric field gradient on the MD system, while keeping the number of dynamically simulated atoms very low for improved efficiency. Furthermore, the MD simulations on the surface orientations with the highest migration energy barriers were accelerated by a metadynamics-based method. As a result, we were able to capture the qualitative trend of biased diffusion toward higher electric fields, with the possibility of extracting surface polarization parameters from the MD results to be directly compared to ab initio calculations.Kovimmatkaan metallipinnat eivät pysy täysin muuttumattomina, sillä absoluuttisen nollapisteen yläpuolella lämpövärähtely aiheuttaa kiinteässäkin aineessa atomien satunnaisliikkettä. Yleisellä tasolla tämä atomien satunnaisliike eli diffuusio pyrkii keskimäärin tekemään pinnoista sileämpiä, jolloin metallin pintajännite on pienimmillään. Jos metallipintaan kuitenkin vaikuttaa jokin ulkoinen voima, kuten esimerkiksi sähkökenttä, pintajännitteen ja ulkoisen voiman yhteenlaskettu vaikutus voi ohjata pinnan kehitystä toiseen suuntaan: esimerkiksi mikroskooppisten pienten piikkien kasvu pinnalla saattaa johtaa tasaista pintaa matalampaan kokonaisenergiaan. Pintadiffuusio on yksi tärkeimmistä mekanismeista, jotka voivat mahdollistaa tällaisten piikkien kasvun. Pinnan muutokset sähkökentän alla ovat olennainen ilmiö monissa tieteellisissä ja teollisissa laitteissa, joissa metalli altistuu erittäin voimakkaille sähkökentille, kuten esimerkiksi hiukkaskiihdyttimissa, lääketieteellisissä säteilylaitteissa ja fuusioreaktoreissa. Eräs tällaisten laitteiden toimintaa haittaava ilmiö ovat valokaaret eli virtapurkaukset metallipintojen välillä. Valokaarien vähentämiseksi on olennaista ymmärtää metallipinnan käyttäytymistä sähkökentän alla; suorien kokeellisten havaintojen tekeminen näissä olosuhteissa on kuitenkin vaikeaa. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin kupariatomien pintadiffuusiota laskennallisten simulaatiomallien avulla. Pintadiffuusio on jo itsessään haastava tutkimuskohde, joten merkittävä osa työstä kului yleispätevien atomististen diffuusiomallien kehittämiseen. Yhdistelemällä modernia koneoppimista ja vakiintuneita fysiikan simulaatiomenetelmiä saavutettiin parempi tarkkuus monien kuparin pintailmiöiden mallintamisessa. Sähkökentän lisääminen malleihin edellytti tutkimusryhmässämme aiemmin kehitettyjen tekniikoiden lisäksi erityisiä kiihdytysmenetelmiä, jotta pintadiffuusiota pystyttiin simuloimaan riittävän pitkällä aikajänteellä. Tulokset ovat hyvin yhteensopivia teoreettisten ennusteiden kanssa, minkä perusteella kehitettyä mallia voidaan pitää tärkeänä askeleena kohti metallipintojen laajempaa ymmärtämistä

Enhancing the fight against corruption in Kenya: making the case for conferral of prosecutorial powers on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Laws Degree, Strathmore University Law SchoolThe main objective of this dissertation is to prove that the EACC has been ineffective in the fight against corruption due to the absence of prosecutorial powers. It analyses the history of corruption in Kenya in order to demonstrate the factors which often frustrate the fight against corruption. It also scrutinizes the legal framework of the EACC in order to establish whether it allows the EACC the authority and independence it needs to reduce corruption and economic crimes in Kenya. The dissertation then analyses the successes of the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission with regards to prosecution of corruption and proposes recommendations that the EACC should adopt in order to enhance the fight against corruption. This dissertation shall be limited to corruption offences that have occurred within the territory of Kenya. Moreover, the dissertation shall only deal with two specific types of corruption, grand corruption and looting. It analyses the prosecution of public officials for the offences of looting and grand corruption. It shall also look at the impediments to prosecution of these corruption offences as opposed to any other criminal prosecution. Secondary sources have been the only form of data relied upon in this dissertation. Qualitative data revealed that anti-corruption institutions in Kenya have been ineffective in the fight against corruption. This has been attributed to many factors including the fact that it lack powers of prosecution. This dissertation has found that the DPP has frustrated the successful conviction of corruption cases owing to the lack of political will to conduct prosecution. The justification for undertaking this dissertation is that corruption causes us massive economic losses every year. This cost is unjustifiable and so it is crucial that we seek to protect our economy from these losses. The anti-corruption initiatives undertaken should be more effective for their purposes, the EACC should in this regard be empowered as is necessary to ensure efficient prosecution of graft. The dissertation proposes that the current anti-corruption law be amended in order to confer prosecutorial powers upon the EACC