Debunking the Legacy of “Kaburu” Biblical Hermeneutics in Kenya Through a Postcolonial Reading of Socioeconomic Parables in Luke’s Gospel

Biblical interpretations in post-colonial Kenya and probable in other geopolitical spaces remain indebted to early western missionaries’ lensed biblical “optics,” still very steeply influential in the way the Bible is read and interpreted. Whereas their contributions to the presence and the growth of the church cannot be underestimated, the legacy and validity of their hermeneutics in post-colonial contexts (Kenya) remain questionable and wanting.  This is so because of its failure to adequately address the dire existential and contextual concerns of communities of faith in their commitment to serve prophetically. Fostered during colonial era, the hermeneutics give peripheral attention to glaring social economic and political distresses affecting the majority of people while a few, mostly rich and powerful live in unmerited affluence. For recourse, this paper deems postcolonial frameworks of interpretation as appropriate for reading scriptures anew. To demonstrate its efficacy, it enjoins two socioeconomic parables from Luke’s gospel (12:16-21, 15:11-32) for exegetical review and whose goal is to demonstrate that biblical readings must of essence be proactively context sensitive, liberating and transforming. By calling for a debunking of the missionary hermeneutics in favour of postcolonial readings, this paper advocates for reception of the gospel not as a message of personal salvation from the world, but as the message of a world transfigured right down to its basic structure, the household (Oikos). Keywords: Bible, Postcolonial, “Kaburu Legacy,” Eurocentric, hermeneutics, Missionary DOI: 10.7176/JPCR/53-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

Isolation, purification and biochemical characterization of alkaline α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis strain W3SFR5 isolated from kitchen Wastes

Background and Objective: Amylase is a hydrolytic enzyme that breaks starch into simple sugars. This enzyme includes uses in starch production, brewery, detergent formulation, paper production and pharmaceuticals as a digest aid. The aim of the present study was to isolate, identify and characterize an alkaline amylase from bacteria of food wastes. Material and Methods: Bacteria were isolated using serial dilution, screened on agar plates and characterized through biochemical assessments and 16S rRNA sequencing. After optimizing the bacterial growth conditions using one factor at a time method, the alkaline amylase was extracted from the culture broth and partially purified using Sephadex G-75 chromatography. Enzyme activity generated by submerged fermentation was assessed using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic and recorded as the mean of three replicates. Results and Conclusion: The bacterial isolate W3SFR5 showed high amylolytic activity in agar culture. Biochemical analysis and sequencing of the 16S rRNA verified the bacterial isolate as Bacillus subtilis (GenBank accession number: OM258620). Bacillus subtilis W3SFR5 was propagated within 30–50 ℃ and pH 6-9. The partially purified Bacillus subtilis W3SFR5 amylase included a molecular weight of 65 kDa and demonstrated a maximum specific activity of 216.02U mg-1. The optimum temperature for the enzyme was 60 °C and the pH was 9. The W3SFR5 amylase was actively stable under temperatures of 50–70 °C and pH of 7-9. Furthermore, 5 mM Fe2+ increased W3SFR5 amylase activity. The enzyme was more resistant to organic solvents, surfactants, inhibitors and oxidizing agents than that most amylases were. Additionally, results showed that W3SFR5 amylase was compatible with most commercial detergents, indicating that it could be used as a detergent additive

Effect of Calotropis procera on the Proximate Composition and Potential Toxicity of Wagashi (Traditional Cheese) in Benin

The Peulh cheese, locally known as Wagashi, is a popular local milk product in Benin. The most important step in the production of Wagashi is the coagulation of the milk into cheese using fresh leaves and stems of Calotopis procera. Calotropis procera is a well-known traditional medicinal plant in the world and, particularly utilized in West Africa in the treatment of many infections. Despite the importance associated with this plant, it has been shown that the plant contains toxic substances that can threaten human health. To define the properties of this plant, we embarked on determining the phytochemical composition of Calotropis procera, Wagashi and whey, evaluation of the value added by the coagulant by comparing the proximate composition of the milk to the one of the wagashi as well as assess the safety of the Wagashi and the whey. Milk from three different breeds of cows (Girolando, Borgou and Lagunaire) were collected from Benin, and used to prepare the cheese and whey evaluated in this study. Our results revealed that there is significant variation (p≤0.05) between the gross composition of the milk, Wagashi and whey. The moisture content vary from 84.19% for milk to 62.47% to the cheese, the ash content vary from 0.67% in milk to 1.41% for cheese while the protein content vary from 2.44% in milk to 8.18% for cheese while the lactose vary from 2.02% to 3.0% for cheese; as for the carbohydrate content decrease from 6.12% in the milk to 4% in the cheese for the breed Girolando. The moisture content vary from 81.68% for milk to 57.34% to the cheese, the ash content vary from 0.63% in milk to 1.46% for cheese while the protein content vary from 1.73% in milk to 8.03% for cheese, the fat content vary from 7.5% to 4.52% for cheese while the lactose vary from 2.37% to 2.90% for cheese; as for the carbohydrate content decrease from 5.38% in the milk to 3.77% in the cheese for the breed Borgou. The moisture content vary from 84.19% for milk to 62.74% to the cheese, the ash content vary from 0.67% in milk to 1.41% for cheese while the protein content vary from 2.44% in milk to 8.18% for cheese, the fat content vary from 5.10% to 7.11% for cheese while the lactose vary from 2.02% to 3% for cheese; as for the carbohydrate content decrease from 6.12% in the milk to 4% in the cheese for the breed Lagunaire. However, the variance in composition is dependent on the breed from which the milk was obtained. Besides, the phytochemicals present in Calotropis procera such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, phenols, saponins and steroids were not detected in both the cheese and whey. We deduced that the process of Wagashi and/or whey processing denatures the phytochemicals, thus assuring the safety of the products. However, further studies exploiting more sensitive analytical methods are required to confirm these findings Keywords: Milk, cheese, whey, proximate, Calotropis procera, phytochemical analysi

Isolation of Salmonella in Commercial Chicken Feeds in Ilala District

Salmonella is one of important hazardous pathogens causing salmonellosis in both humans and animals. In Tanzania, commercial chicken farming is a rapidly growing industry and salmonellosis is a serious problem. A study on Salmonella was conducted in commercially produced chicken feeds from feed mills in Ilala, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between October 2015 and January 2016. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in commercial chicken feeds. Feed samples were collected from a total of 197 randomly selected feed bags of different types from 3 feed mills to estimate the contamination prevalence. Cultural and biochemical tests were performed for the presence of Salmonella in the samples. The overall prevalence of Salmonella in the study was 29.4%. The prevalence of Salmonella in broiler starter mash, broiler grower mash, broiler finisher mash and layers mash were confirmed to be 30.8%, 38.1%, 33.3% and 21.1 respectively and prevalence of Salmonella in batches 1 and 2 were 27.8% and 30.5% respectively. Prevalence of Salmonella contamination in feed mills A, B and C, was 22.2%, 48.1% and 14.7% respectively. Significantly higher (p = 0.001) prevalence of Salmonella contamination was seen in feed mill B when compared to the other two. The presence of Salmonella in commercial chicken feeds in Ilala presents a contamination hazard for both humans and Salmonella-free flocks, and therefore, calls for improvement of hygienic processing and handling of feeds for effective control measures

Analytical modelling of visco-elastic behaviour of hot-mix asphalt

Paper presented at the 31st Annual Southern African Transport Conference 9-12 July 2012 "Getting Southern Africa to Work", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.As part of the revision of the South African Pavement Design Method (SAPDM), laboratory testing was conducted to obtain the dynamic (Complex) modulus |E*| of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) samples. Dynamic modulus gives an indication of linear visco-elastic (LVE) behaviour of HMA materials at different temperatures and loading frequencies; and is required for computation of stresses, strains and displacements in flexible pavement analysis and design. Laboratory tests to obtain dynamic modulus are normally conducted at limited range of temperatures and loading frequencies. In order to characterize HMA mixes for pavement analysis, sigmoidal function master curves are constructed at different temperatures and loading frequencies using a time-temperature superposition principle. Instead of using the sigmoidal function, this paper presents an alternative approach for characterising the LVE behaviour of HMA materials. This approach is based on the use of three rheological models, namely, Burger’s, Huet-Sayegh and the generalised 2S2P1D. The model parameters for all three rheological models were successfully determined. The master curves were developed for all HMA mixes studied. The Cole-Cole and the Black diagrams were determined. Based on the results presented in this paper, the Huet-Sayegh and the Generalised 2S2P1D models appear to predict the LVE behaviour of HMA mixes more effectively than the Burger’s model.This paper was transferred from the original CD ROM created for this conference. The material was published using Adobe Acrobat 10.1.0 Technology. The original CD ROM was produced by Document Transformation Technologies Postal Address: PO Box 560 Irene 0062 South Africa. Tel.: +27 12 667 2074 Fax: +27 12 667 2766 E-mail: nigel@doctech URL: http://www.doctech.co.zadm201

Duration of Untreated Disorder and Cannabis Use: An Observational Study on a Cohort of Young Italian Patients Experiencing Psychotic Experiences and Dissociative Symptoms

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Background: The Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) is the time between the first-episode psychosis (FEP) and the initiation of antipsychotic treatment. It is an important predictor of several disease-related outcomes in psychotic disorders. The aim of this manuscript is investigating the influence of cannabis on the DUP and its clinical correlates. Methods: During years 2014−2019, sixty-two FEP patients with and without cannabis use disorder (CUD) were recruited from several Italian psychiatric hospitals. The subjects were then divided into two groups based on the duration of the DUP and assessed at the beginning of the antipsychotic treatment and after 3 and 6 months, using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II). Results: As expected, a longer DUP was associated with worse symptoms and cannabis use did not seem to affect the DUP, but both were related with more dissociative symptoms at onset and over time. Discussion: According to our study, cannabis use can be a predictor of FEP and DUP, and of disease outcome. However, several factors might influence the relationship between cannabis use and DUP. Preventing cannabis use and early diagnosis of psychotic disorders might impact the disease by reducing the persistence of symptoms and limiting dissociative experiences.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Does audit and feedback improve the adoption of recommended practices? Evidence from a longitudinal observational study of an emerging clinical network in Kenya.

Background: Audit and feedback (A&F) is widely used in healthcare but there are few examples of how to deploy it at scale in low-income countries. Establishing the Clinical Information Network (CIN) in Kenya provided an opportunity to examine the effect of A&F delivered as part of a wider set of activities to promote paediatric guideline adherence. Methods: We analysed data collected from medical records on discharge for children aged 2-59 months from 14 Kenyan hospitals in the CIN. Hospitals joined CIN in phases and for each we analysed their initial 25 months of participation that occurred between December 2013 and March 2016. A total of 34 indicators of adherence to recommendations were selected for evaluation each classified by form of feedback (passive, active and none) and type of task (simple or difficult documentation and those requiring cognitive work). Performance change was explored graphically and using generalised linear mixed models with attention given to the effects of time and use of a standardised paediatric admission record (PAR) form. Results: Data from 60 214 admissions were eligible for analysis. Adherence to recommendations across hospitals significantly improved for 24/34 indicators. Improvements were not obviously related to nature of feedback, may be related to task type and were related to PAR use in the case of documentation indicators. There was, however, marked variability in adoption and adherence to recommended practices across sites and indicators. Hospital-specific factors, low baseline performance and specific contextual changes appeared to influence the magnitude of change in specific cases. Conclusion: Our observational data suggest some change in multiple indicators of adherence to recommendations (aspects of quality of care) can be achieved in low-resource hospitals using A&F and simple job aides in the context of a wider network approach

2019 Kirindon literacy study : using ABRACADABRA and READS

Two grade-one English teachers and their students from two World Vision schools in Kirindon (a remote region of Narok County, Kenya) participated in this study; one teacher used ABRA-READS as part of her English Language instruction (40 students) and one control teacher (40 students) did not use the tools. Analysis of findings show that after exposure to the ABRA and READS instruction, the students improved their scores at a higher rate than their peers from the control class. ABRA/READS students showed significantly larger improvements in Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Total Grade. The software helped learners become active learners and to reason faster

Highly Variable Taxa-specific Coral Bleaching Responses to Thermal Stresses

Complex histories of chronic and acute sea surface temperature (SST) stresses are expected to trigger taxon- and location-specific responses that will ultimately lead to novel coral communities. The 2016 El Niño-Southern Oscillation provided an opportunity to examine large- scale and recent environmental histories on emerging patterns in 226 coral communities distrib- uted across 12 countries from East Africa to Fiji. Six main coral communities were identified that largely varied across a gradient of Acropora to massive Porites dominance. Bleaching intensity was taxon-specific and was associated with complex interactions among the 20 environmental variables that we examined. Coral community structure was better aligned with the historical temperature patterns between 1985 and 2015 than the 2016 extreme temperature event. Addi- tionally, bleaching responses observed during 2016 differed from historical reports during past warm years. Consequently, coral communities present in 2016 are likely to have been reorganized by both long-term community change and acclimation mechanisms. For example, less disturbed sites with cooler baseline temperatures, higher mean historical SST background variability, and infrequent extreme warm temperature stresses were associated with Acropora-dominated communities, while more disturbed sites with lower historical SST background variability and frequent acute warm stress were dominated by stress-resistant massive Porites corals. Overall, the combination of taxon-specific responses, community-level reorganization over time, geographic variation, and multiple environmental stressors suggest complex responses and a diversity of future coral communities that can help contextualize management priorities and activities