Prevalence of fibromyalgia in ambulatory HIV positive patients with musculoskeletal pain at Comprehensive Care Clinic, Kenyatta National Hospital

Background: Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic condition that is characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain with painful pressure points. There are other symptoms that are associated with this condition and they include fatigue, sleep disturbance and depression. The cause of this condition is unknown however chronic viral infections eg HIV have been associated with bromyalgia. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of fibromyalgia in HIV positive patients. Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: The study was carried out at the Comprehensive Care Centre, Kenyatta National Hospital. Methods: The patients attending the clinic between the month of February 2013 and April 2013 were assessed for chronic musculoskeletal pain and subsequently fibromyalgia using the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Those found to have fibromyalgia were given the FIQR and those without were given the SIQR for comparison purposes. Clinical details eg WHO clinical stage, CD4 counts and HAART regimen for those on HAART were also documented. Results: A total of 380 patients were evaluated. The prevalence of fibromyalgia in HIV positive patients at the Comprehensive Care Centre, Kenyatta National Hospital was 68 (17.9%). The mean age of these patients was 42.2 years with a median of 40.5 years.There was a female preponderance of 60 (88.2%). Fibromyalgia was independently associated with female gender, OR=2.75, unemployment status, OR=5.68 and retired status, OR=3.01. A majority of the patients were in WHO clinical stage 3 and the mean CD4 count was 276.2. There was however no association between fibromyalgia and WHO clinical stage, CD4 count and use of HAART or the specific HAART regimens. The mean FIQR was 50.1 which was significantly higher than the mean SIQR score of 12.4 in those without fibromyalgia. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia is a prevalent rheumatologic condition among HIV positive patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. It is also associated with a high FIQR score

Planning for housing in irrigation settlement schemes in Kenya Ahero and West Kano schemes

SIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Dualistic roles and management of non-cultivated plants in lowland rice systems of East Africa

An ethnobotanical study in lowland rice areas in East Africa was undertaken to assess farmers' knowledge on the usage of non-cultivated plants occurring in paddy fields, and to understand what rice farmers in this region do with useful species once they encounter them in their crop. Inventories of weed species in 19 rice schemes in Tanzania and Kenya were followed by interviews among 380 experienced rice farmers, community elders and traditional healers, grouped into 19 informant groups. Among informant groups, a high degree of consensus about uses of weeds growing in rice paddies was observed. From a total of 222 observed rice weed species, the informant groups identified 67 species with usages described in 1300 use reports. Among these 67 species, 20 are among the most commonly cited weed species in rice paddies in sub-Saharan Africa. Only in 42 cases (3% of the total use reports) did the farmers indicate that they collected (13 species) or spared (four species) these weeds during weeding. In all other cases, such plants were removed or killed during weeding, irrespective of their usefulness. Non-cultivated plants that are spared are those of which the putative agronomic qualities (i.e. for crop protection or soil improvement) are considered more important than their crop competition effects (i.e. Azolla filiculoides and Marsilea crenata) and those that are found in the field margins, which do not compete with the crop. Non-cultivated plants that are collected during weeding have food, fodder or medicinal purposes or a combination of purposes. The most cited species that are collected or spared during weeding were Bidens pilosa, Ipomoea aquatica, Corchorus olitorius and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. This study revealed that lowland rice farmers in East Africa generally have a high level of understanding and consensus on the usefulness of the non-cultivated plants growing in lowland rice schemes. When they occur in their crop however, the vast majority of these species are primarily seen as weeds and consequently removed or killed

Additions to the bryoflora of Reunion Island 3: new and interesting records from the Tropical Bryology Group (British Bryological Society)

This contribution is a result of collaborative work based on the fieldwork organized during a workshop of the Tropical Bryology Group on Mascarene bryophytes in September 2008, and also from previous unpublished records of the authors. We add 35 new taxon records (17 mosses and 18 liverworts) as well as five other interesting records for Re´union Island (Mascarene Archipelago). Grimmia austrofunalis Mu¨ll.Hal., Sphagnum magellanicum Brid. subsp. magellanicum, Didymodon tectorum (Mu¨ll.Hal.) K. Saito, Anastrophyllum revolutum Steph. and Lejeunea exilis (Reinw. et al.) Grolle are reported for the first time for Africa. Syrrhopodon vardei L.T.Ellis, Ceratolejeunea papuliflora Steph. and Xylolejeunea grolleana (Po´cs) X.-L. He & Grolle, previously known as endemic from Madagascar, are here recorded for Re´union. The latter species is also illustrated with SEM pictures

Institutions, resources, and organizational effectiveness in Africa

© The Academy of Management Perspectives. While management research has made significant progress in globalizing its reach, African organizations have remained a missing link. We argue that Africa-focused management research may address the major problem of organizational effectiveness through work on the two major theoretical building blocks: institutions and resources. Building a model of organizational effectiveness in Africa, this article discusses the interactive processes within each of the two building blocks and the transformational mechanisms that link each theory and organizational effectiveness in the African context