Quality of Life of Women living with HIV and AIDS in Korogocho Slums, Nairobi, Kenya

Background: Since HIV/AIDS was reported in Kenya the country has been and continues to be impacted negatively in all sectors. Despite Government’s intervention initiatives to mitigate the impact, patients continue to succumb to this condition. The main objective of this study was to assess the factors that affect on the Quality of Life among HIV and AIDS positive women in Korogocho Slums. Methods: This study employed an exploratory design. Quality of Life was evaluated using several items which employed a Likert2type five2point scale. These items were distributed in four domains: Physical health and level of independence; Psychological well2being; Social relationships and environment. The domain scores scaled in a positive direction – higher scores denoted higher quality of life and vice versa. Structured interviews were used to collect quantitative data while in2depth interviews were used to collect qualitative information. Results: A total of 83 female patients were interviewed in this study. Only 31% reported that they were restricted by physical pain to go about their business. As high as 70% of the respondents reported that they did not get enough support from relatives and friends. Eighty percent reported that they were not satisfied with their sex life and 37% reported that the environment they lived in was unhealthy. This study reported a low quality of life of 53% among the respondents. Recommendations: Clinicians and health practitioners in their interaction with women with HIV and AIDS to consider involving them in their health decision making since they are the owners of their bodies who continuously listen to the manifestation of the condition in order to improve health care outcomes. Keywords: Health Related Quality of Life; HIV and Aid

The potential for using visual elicitation in understanding preschool teachers’ beliefs of appropriate educational practices

We explore the use of video and photo elicitation in a research study undertaken to understand the way in which preschool teachers perceive and construct their provision of children’s educational experiences. We explore the value of visually elicited interviews based on video footage and photographs captured during teaching and learning in four classrooms in two preschool settings in Kenya. Through visually elicited interviews, both the teachers and the researcher constructed meaningful conversations (interviews) to explore preschool teachers’ practical experiences and their beliefs, understanding and interpretation of developmentally appropriate educational practices. This paper targets the possible value of and contribution made by visual data generation procedures, as well as their inherent challenges, in order to add to the body of knowledge on visually elicited interviews

Redefining the expressed prototype SICAvar gene involved in Plasmodium knowlesi antigenic variation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>SICAvar </it>gene family, expressed at the surface of infected erythrocytes, is critical for antigenic variation in <it>Plasmodium knowlesi</it>. When this family was discovered, a prototypic <it>SICAvar </it>gene was characterized and defined by a 10-exon structure. The predicted 205-kDa protein lacked a convincing signal peptide, but included a series of variable cysteine-rich modules, a transmembrane domain encoded by the penultimate exon, and a cytoplasmic domain encoded by the final highly conserved exon. The <it>205 SICAvar </it>gene and its family with up to 108 possible family members, was identified prior to the sequencing of the <it>P. knowlesi </it>genome. However, in the published <it>P. knowlesi </it>database this gene remains disjointed in five fragments. This study addresses a number of structural and functional questions that are critical for understanding <it>SICAvar </it>gene expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Database mining, bioinformatics, and traditional genomic and post-genomic experimental methods including proteomic technologies are used here to confirm the genomic context and expressed structure of the prototype <it>205 SICAvar </it>gene.</p> <p><b>Results</b></p> <p>This study reveals that the <it>205 SICAvar </it>gene reported previously to have a 10-exon expressed gene structure has, in fact, 12 exons, with an unusually large and repeat-laden intron separating two newly defined upstream exons and the <it>bona fide </it>5'UTR from the remainder of the gene sequence. The initial exon encodes a PEXEL motif, which may function to localize the SICA protein in the infected erythrocyte membrane. This newly defined start of the 205 <it>SICAvar </it>sequence is positioned on chromosome 5, over 340 kb upstream from the rest of the telomerically positioned <it>SICAvar </it>gene sequence in the published genome assembly. This study, however, verifies the continuity of these sequences, a 9.5 kb transcript, and provides evidence that the 205 <it>SICAvar </it>gene is located centrally on chromosome 5.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prototype <it>205 SICAvar </it>gene has been redefined to have a 12-exon structure. These data are important because they 1) address questions raised in the <it>P. knowlesi </it>genome database regarding <it>SICAvar </it>gene fragments, numbers and structures, 2) show that this prototype gene encodes a PEXEL motif, 3) emphasize the need for further refinement of the <it>P. knowlesi </it>genome data, and 4) retrospectively, provide evidence for recombination within centrally located <it>SICAvar </it>sequences.</p

In-vitro Antimicrobial Properties of Methanol extracts of three Medicinal Plants from Kilifi District - Kenya

Multidrug resistant microbes are a health management challenge in immunocopromised individuals. The study aimed to evaluate antimicrobial potential and toxicity of the methanol extracts of Hosludia opposita, Rhus natalensis and Combretum illairii. The plants were collected from Kilifi District and authenticated at East African Herbarium. Samples collected were extracted in methanol. Quantitative bioassay was done using disc diffusion method; minimum inhibition concentration was done using broth dilution methods. The isolates used for bioactivity testing were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentarophyte. Phytochemical screening was done using thin layer chromatograpy and cell toxicity was done using human embryonic lung cells. The H. opposita and C. illairii had terpenoids, flavonoids and anthaquinones. All the extracts were safe to the mammalian cells. Combretum illairii plant extracts had good activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa with inhibition zones diameters of 15.60 mm and 17.00 mm respectively. Rhus natalensis had an MIC of 6.25mg/ against both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. The plant extracts were active against both bacteria and fungi. The result indicates that’s the plants extracts have potential for managing infections caused by the tested microbes. Isolation of compounds present and determination of their bioactivity should be done together with conservation initiatives

Tracing the Path of Technology Diffusion: The Case of Nturumenti, Narok, Kenya

An array of technologies; growing improved wheat varieties, bulking and collective marketing of wheat grains, sheep breed improvement, ram sharing, feedlot sheep fattening for market, strategic sheep deworming, pasture establishment and conservation practices; were introduced to members of a community based organization (CBO) in Nturumenti, anti-female genital mutilation and anti-poverty organization (AFAPO) in 2014. The CBO members, composed of youthful 19 men and 7 females, were intensively exposed and involved in the new skills both theoretically and practically in the farmers’ field school model. Even though the 8 farming technology options were suitable for the study environment, their adoption and diffusion varied. However, one of the introduced ideas, bulking and collective marketing of wheat grains, was not attempted for application by the farmers. Instead, the farmers felt that individual marketing of wheat grains immediately after harvesting was convenient and a quick way of recouping the invested funds particularly for the resource poor farmers in Nturumenti. In 2019, a follow-up study, conducted approximately 5 years after the exposure to determine the adoption and technology diffusion rate, it was observed that close to 80% of the agro-pastoral farming CBO members adopted more of the technologies associated with pasture establishment, production and conservation albeit the fact that they were lowly ranked in terms of awareness, at 13.3% for pasture establishment, synonymous to reseeding, and 16.7% for harvesting and conservation of cereal crop residues referred to as feeding of wheat straw during the ex-ante study. Indeed, the adopted ideas were practiced at commercial level and even diffused to non-CBO members. The findings indicate that even though, field demonstration exposed the farmers to a wide “menu” of technology options, the farmers, starting with the early innovators, adopted the technologies that mostly suited their needs and guaranteed to improve their livelihoods; and others farmers ‘imitated’ them

Distribution, characterization and the commercialization of elite Rhizobia strains in Africa

Grain legumes play a significant role in smallholder farming systems in Africa because of their contribution to nutrition and income security and their role in fixing nitrogen. Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) serves a critical role in improving soil fertility for legumes. Although much research has been conducted on rhizobia in nitrogen fixation and their contribution to soil fertility, much less is known about the distribution and diversity of the bacteria strains in different areas of the world and which of the strains achieve optimal benefits for the host plants under specific soil and environmental conditions. This paper reviews the distribution, characterization, and commercialization of elite rhizobia strains in Africa