Post-harvest technology transfer to reduce on farm grain losses in Kitui district, Kenya

Training and demonstrations on post harvest technology transfer to reduce grain losses at farm level were conducted in five divisions of Kitui district with the overall objective of consolidating what the farmers already knew about storage. It was also to assist them select appropriate storage methods with emphasis on proper application of pest control products. A total of 163 participants were trained in storage pest management covering pest infestation cycle, use of chemical and non-chemical methods of control, storage practices and identification of major pests using specimen and pictures, dangers of mycotoxins on maize followed by on demonstrations.Farmers demonstrated traditional practices of determining grain moisture content, and shovel mixing, both on the tarpaulin and wheelbarrows. Sticks were other tools used to mix chemical dust with grain on tarpaulins and in the bags. The research team from Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) demonstrated proper use of the shovel and the “fuffle”, a device that is faster and more efficient in mixing grain with chemical dusts.Treated grain and a control were stored on site in 90-kg bags. Evaluation, based on the level of damage and live infestation was done after 3 months. Despite anomalies like lack of uniformity of grain in different bags depending on source, KARI methods appeared better than farmers’ methods in most instances. Farmers were able to make informed decisions based on the mixing methods which gave better results. The fuffle was an effective tool for mixing grain with chemical dusts and farmers were keen to have it fabricated by local artisans. Farmers appreciated the training and demonstration and promised to adopt proper grain preservation techniques as demonstrated to improve grain quality.Keywords: Post harvest, Technology transfer, Grain losses, Farmer

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Eutrophication in Marine Ecosystems

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) eutrophication in marine ecosystems is a global problem. Marine eutrophication has a negative impact on food security, ecosystem health and economy through disruptions in tourism, fisheries and health industries. Both N and P have known point and non-point sources. Control of point sources has been easier than non-point sources particularly agricultural sources for both N and P as well as fossil fuel combustion for N, which remains a major challenge. Implementing mitigation strategies for N has been reported to be effective for P mitigation; however, the converse is not true due to mobility and volatility of N. Excessive N and P cause algae blooms, anoxic conditions, and ocean acidification with these conditions leading to dead zones, fish kill, toxin production, altered plant species diversity, food web disruption, tourism disruption and health issues. Management of N and P pollution includes reduction of leaching from farms through crop selection, timely and precise application of fertilizer and building artificial wetlands, proper management of animal waste, reduction of fossil fuel N emission, mitigating N and P from urban sources and restoration of aquatic ecosystem. Mitigation measures need to focus on dual nutrient strategy for successful N and P reduction

Snacking and its effect on nutritional status of adolescents in two national high schools in Nairobi Kenya

Snacking is defined as any intake of food or energy-containing beverage outside of breakfast, lunch and dinner (Bellisle, 2007). Previous studies have shown that snacking among adolescents is most common in the afternoon (Cross et al., 1994; Howarth et al., 2007). This study focused on snacking and its effect on dietary intake of macronutrients from normal school balanced meals and nutritional status of adolescents in two public national high schools namely Nairobi School for boys and Kenya High School (KHS) for girls, in Kenya. These schools were purposefully and randomly selected. A cross-sectional study on nutritional status and level of snacking was carried out involving 172 and 180 adolescent girls and boys respectively aged 13 to 18 years. A total of 352 adolescent high school girls and boys were assessed. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio-economic status (SES) of the respondents’ families while qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and observations. Anthropometric measurements on height and weight for nutritional status were used. Food consumption frequency was used to assess food intake from school meals and snacks. Energy and protein intake data were collected using a 24-hour recall based on a sub-sample of 31 students (14 boys and 17 girls). Eleven percent (11.0%) boys and 10.2% girls was stunted. Almost an equivalent number of both boys and girls (45.2% and 44.1% respectively) were found to be normal and nourished. Although, the girls are more likely to be stunted than boys stunting was not significantly different between the two groups and underweight was significantly higher in boys than in girls. Significantly more girls were overweight and obese than boys. Among the students who reported to be snacking, 10.4% were underweight and 76.9% had normal BMI-for-age as compared to those who did not snack where 20.0 % were underweight and 63.3% with normal BMI-for-age. It was observed that amongst those who snacked, an equal number of boys and girls at 5.2% were underweight while 6.9% more girls than boys (5.9%) were overweight. Most of the students who snacked had a normal (89.3%) height-for-age. Amongst those who snacked and based on gender, more boys (5.9%) than girls (4.8%) were found to be stunted. Among the gender the difference between those who snacked and those who didn’t was insignificant There were almost an equivalent percentage of those who snacked at 10.7% and those who didn’t at12.0% and were stunted. There was no significant difference between the BMI-for-age among those who were snacking and those who were not (?2=5.84, p value=0.120). Whether one snacks or not there is no significant relationship between snacking, BMI- for-Age, and hence nutritional status of both adolescent boys and girls in national boarding high schools. This study shows that snacking has no effect on adolescents’ nutritional status.   Key words: adolescent, snacking, high school, malnutrition, nutritional status, underweight, overweight, obese, stunting, githeri, ugal

Impact of internalized stigma on HIV prevention behaviors among HIV-infected individuals seeking HIV care in Kenya

In general, an initial diagnosis of HIV is likely to be correlated with the onset of HIV stigma. HIV-positive individuals are likely to internalize stigma, may suffer from psychosocial issues, or engage in maladaptive behaviors to cope with the diagnosis. Internalized stigma stems from fear of stigmatization also known as felt stigma. The current study examined the impact of HIV felt stigma on overall health and success of HIV prevention behaviors among 370 participants living with HIV and receiving care at an urban HIV clinic in Kenya. An 18-item instrument was cross culturally adapted to measure felt stigma. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses examined the data. Findings indicate that 25.9% (n=96) of participants who reported experiencing high levels of felt stigma related to other people's attitudes toward their condition, ostracizing, and a disruption of their personal life, were likely to not adhere to prescribed HIV medication and not disclose their HIV serostatus to one other person. Those who also experienced felt stigma related to a disruption of their personal lives while mediated by depression were likely to report poor overall health. Findings support having HIV clinics and interventions develop relevant HIV prevention strategies that focus on the emerging dimensions of felt stigma which can significantly impact disclosure of serostatus, medication adherence, and overall health

Biochar Phosphorus Sorption-Desorption: Potential Phosphorus Eutrophication Mitigation Strategy

Phosphorus (P) eutrophication in the water bodies is of global concern. The role of biochar in the mitigation of (P) eutrophication has recently received substantial attention. Agriculture is the main source of P in the water bodies, as a result of excessive fertilizer and manure application. Excessive P results in excessive primary production in the water bodies, leading to anoxic conditions, growth of toxic algae blooms, altering plant species composition and biomass. Therefore, resulting in food web disruption, fish kill, toxins production and recreation areas degradation. When biochar is applied on farm, it has potential to sorb/adsorb P, immobilizing it, slowing its translocation to the water bodies. However, biochar effectiveness in P sorption is influenced by both feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature. The interaction between feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature influences the biochar pH, surface area, aromatic carbon, cation exchange capacity, surface charge density, biochar internal porosity and polar and nonpolar surface sites that promote nutrient absorption. Hence, biochar properties have a broad spectrum that influences how biochar reacts with P sorption; therefore, it is not appropriate to extrapolate observed results to different materials. Biochar that promote P sorption rather than desorption should be considered and designed to meet specific management practices

Land Use Change Affects Soil Organic Carbon: An Indicator of Soil Health

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major indicator of soil health. Globally, soil contains approximately 2344 Gt of organic carbon (OC), which is the largest terrestrial pool of OC. Through plant growth, soil health is connected with the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. Provides ecosystem services which include climate regulation, water supplies and regulation, nutrient cycling, erosion protection and enhancement of biodiversity. Global increase in land use change from natural vegetation to agricultural land has been documented as a result of intensification of agricultural practices in response to an increasing human population. Consequently, these changes have resulted in depletion of SOC stock, thereby negatively affecting agricultural productivity and provision of ecosystem services. This necessitates the need to consider technological options that promote retention of SOC stocks. Options to enhance SOC include; no-tillage/conservation agriculture, irrigation, increasing below-ground inputs, organic amendments, and integrated, and diverse cropping/farming systems. In addition, land use conversion from cropland to its natural vegetation improves soil C stocks, highlighting the importance of increasing agricultural production per unit land instead of expanding agricultural land to natural areas

High impact = high statistical standards? Not necessarily so.

What are the statistical practices of articles published in journals with a high impact factor? Are there differences compared with articles published in journals with a somewhat lower impact factor that have adopted editorial policies to reduce the impact of limitations of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing? To investigate these questions, the current study analyzed all articles related to psychological, neuropsychological and medical issues, published in 2011 in four journals with high impact factors: Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, and three journals with relatively lower impact factors: Neuropsychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied and the American Journal of Public Health. Results show that Null Hypothesis Significance Testing without any use of confidence intervals, effect size, prospective power and model estimation, is the prevalent statistical practice used in articles published in Nature, 89%, followed by articles published in Science, 42%. By contrast, in all other journals, both with high and lower impact factors, most articles report confidence intervals and/or effect size measures. We interpreted these differences as consequences of the editorial policies adopted by the journal editors, which are probably the most effective means to improve the statistical practices in journals with high or low impact factors

Prevalence of Bovine (Nematodes) Otitis in Kenya

A survey carried out to determine the prevalence of Prevalence of Bovine (Nematodes) Otitis in Kenya using physical, otoscopic and microscopic examination of ear swabs. Of 413 examined in Kajiado District (with a hot and dry climate), 241(58.4%) were affected and these 202 (83.8%) had worms in one ear or both ears. Rhabditis bovis alone was encountered in the hot dry areas, while Rh. Bovis and Rh Blumi either singly or in mixed infections were encountered in the cold humid areas. The disease varied from mild, moderate, severe to chronic forms in its manifestation. Where it occurred alone, Rh Blumi was associated with the mild and chronic forms of the disease. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 25 2002: pp. 32-3

Effects of Anthropogenic Activities on Water Quality within Ngong River Sub-Catchment, Nairobi, Kenya

Anthropogenic activities often compromise the water quality of natural water systems, rendering it unfit for domestic and agricultural use. This paper evaluates the effects of anthropogenic activities on the water quality of Ngong River in Nairobi County, Kenya. It aimed to assess the river’s physico-chemical parameters, identify major anthropogenic activities that act as pollutant sources and establish the relationship between the anthropogenic activities and water quality along the Ngong River. Twelve water samples were systematically collected in each of the twelve study sites in April and August 2021 and analyzed in the laboratory for various water quality parameters. The accumulation factor (AF) indicated that E. coli, total coliforms, BOD and COD were found to significantly build up downstream of Ngong River. The ANOVA test results showed that all the physicochemical parameters studied (BOD, E. coli, pH, total suspended solids, total coliforms, turbidity, conductivity, nitrates, oil and grease and TDS), except COD, were not significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) for the different sites. Measured heavy metals, such as lead (Pb) levels at different sampled points, were all found to be below the detectable limit (0.001 ppm) for both seasons. Cadmium (Cd) was detectable during the dry season with the highest levels (0.113 ppm) being recorded at Ngong Forest Boundary. The findings of this study revealed that anthropogenic activities, such as raw sewage disposal, industrial activities, solid waste dumping and small-scale agriculture, had adverse effects on Ngong River’s water quality. The study recommends a need to closely monitor anthropogenic activities along Ngong River to reduce their probable pollution of the water in the River basin. This will ensure the sustainability of the water resources