Micropropagation of Launaea cornuta - an important indigenous vegetable and medicinal plant

An efficient micropropagation protocol was developed for the medicinal plant Launaea cornuta using green house axillary buds as explants. The best sterility was obtained at 30% (v/v) local bleach (JIK). Maximum shoot induction rate was achieved when axillary buds were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) Media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) for 3 weeks. The highest number of shoot multiplication was obtained when induced shoots were culture on MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BAP and 0.2 mg/L NAA for 30 days. The best rooting response with regard to average root length, rooting percentage and number of roots was achieved within 4 weeks of culture of excised shoots on MS media having 0.5 mg/L BAP. Regenerated plants were successfully acclimatized and about 80 to 90% of plantlets survived under ex vitro conditions. About 170 plants were produced from a single nodal bud of L. cornuta after 60 days. A reproducible protocol was established for in vitro propagation of L. cornuta, an important indigenous vegetable with high medicinal value

Tobacco use and the Cardiovascular Disease Epidemic in\ud Developing Countries: Prevention Opportunity

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the world, far outstripping deaths due to malaria, Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and tuberculosis. Approximately 80% of the 35 million deaths annually are attributable to chronic diseases and a similar proportion of the approximately 16.7 million deaths due to CVD occur in low and middle income countries. Tobacco use is one of the major avoidable causes of cardiovascular disease. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and is associated with an increased risk of various diseases including cardiovascular disease. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the role of smoking on cardiovascular disease and effects of antismoking legislation on admission due to acute myocardial infarction. Research method/Methodology: PubMed and manual search strategies using the search words ‘tobacco and cardiovascular disease’ were used to identify articles published on the contribution of smoking to cardiovascular events and the effects of legislation. 798 articles were found of which 28 were found useful and 39 were found to be highly relevant for the review. Smoking has been significantly related to acute myocardial infarction (p<0•0001) with an odds ratio of 2•87 (2•36–3•48) for current vs. never, PAR 35•7% for current and former vs. never). Smoking bans have been associated with decreases in instances of acute myocardial infarction ranging from a 40% decrease found in Helena, Montana, USA to an 8% reduction seen in the State of New York. Cardiovascular diseases are a major public health challenge. Smoking plays a major role in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Therefore efforts are required to address the problem especially at preventive level. Public smoking bans are related to fewer admissions for both cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. Legislative efforts to reduce exposure to smoking are needed especially in the developing countries, where prevalence of smoking is rising

Complementary and alternative medicine use among diabetic patients in Africa: a Kenyan perspective

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is common among patients with chronic diseases in developing countries. The rising use of CAM in the management of diabetes is an emerging public health concern given the potential adverse effects, drug interactions and benefits associated with its use. Herbal medicine, dietary supplements, prayers and relaxation techniques are some of the most frequently used CAM modalities in Kenya. Cited reasons for CAM use as adjuvant therapy include dissatisfaction and inaccessibility of allopathic medicine, and recommendations by family and friends. This article explores the pattern of CAM use in Kenya and other developing countries. It also identifies some constraints to proper CAM control, and offers suggestions on what can be done to ensure safe and regulated CAM use

Transformation and Regeneration Protocol for Two Farmer Preferred Open Pollinated Tropical Maize (Zea Mays) Varieties

Article PurchasedAbstract: In vitro regeneration of open pollinated varieties (OPVs) Kakamega Striga Tolerant Population 94 (KSTP’94) and ‘Namba Nane’ alongside a tropical inbred line (CML144) was evaluated using immature zygotic embryos as explants. Four callus induction media (CIM) regimes; Murashige and Skoog (MS), Linsmaier and Skoog (LS), Chu (N6) and N6*(N6 medium fortified with 0.35 gL-1 L-proline and 0.8 mgL-1 AgNO3) were evaluated for their potential to induce callus in the three genotypes. All the media were supplemented with sucrose and five levels of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mgL-1). Resulting calli were matured on MS and N6 basal media supplemented with 60 g/L sucrose and similar concentration levels (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mgL-1) of 2, 4-D while the subsequent embryogenic calli were regenerated on hormone-free media. Transformability of these varieties was assessed via histochemical analysis of β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene following Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Statistical analyses were done using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) and Graphpad Prism softwares with mean separations achieved at 95% confidence intervals. Of the 2 OPVs, KSTP’94 recorded the highest callus induction frequency (84.4%) while Namba Nane (45.6%) had the lowest. Similarly, KSTP, 94 had the highest mean of mature somatic embryos (59.7%) while Namba Nane recorded the lowest (16.4%). Assessment of regeneration frequencies from embryogenic calli revealed no significant differences among the 3 lines although CML 144 had the highest mean number of juvenile plantlets (36.7%). Analysis of transformation frequency (upon selection of calli on media with basta) showed that Namba Nane recorded the lowest transformation frequency (average 13.5%) some words missing. Transformation frequency (based on GUS positive calli) of these varieties ranged from 0.8 to 2.1%. This work therefore provides an empirical platform for potential introduction of useful genes into these varieties

Open access: academic publishing and its implications for knowledge equity in Kenya

Traditional, subscription-based scientific publishing has its limitations: often, articles are inaccessible to the majority of researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where journal subscriptions or one-time access fees are cost-prohibitive. Open access (OA) publishing, in which journals provide online access to articles free of charge, breaks this barrier and allows unrestricted access to scientific and scholarly information to researchers all over the globe. At the same time, one major limitation to OA is a high publishing cost that is placed on authors. Following recent developments to OA publishing policies in the UK and even LMICs, this article highlights the current status and future challenges of OA in Africa. We place particular emphasis on Kenya, where multidisciplinary efforts to improve access have been established. We note that these efforts in Kenya can be further strengthened and potentially replicated in other African countries, with the goal of elevating the visibility of African research and improving access for African researchers to global research, and, ultimately, bring social and economic benefits to the region. We (1) offer recommendations for overcoming the challenges of implementing OA in Africa and (2) call for urgent action by African governments to follow the suit of high-income countries like the UK and Australia, mandating OA for publicly-funded research in their region and supporting future research into how OA might bring social and economic benefits to Africa

Young professionals for health development: the Kenyan experience in combating non-communicable diseases

Young individuals (below 35 years) comprise an estimated 60% of the global population. Not only are these individuals currently experiencing chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), either living with or at risk for these conditions, but will also experience the long-term repercussions of the current NCD policy implementations. It is thus imperative that they meaningfully contribute to the global discourse and responses for NCDs at the local level. Here, we profile one example of meaningful engagement: the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YPCDN). The YPCDN is a global online network that provides a platform for young professionals to deliberate new and innovative methods of approaching the NCD challenges facing our societies. We provide a case study of the 2-year experiences of a country chapter (Kenya) of the YPCDN to demonstrate the significance and impact of emerging leaders in addressing the new global health agenda of the 21st century

Interval Estimation for the Ratio of Percentiles from Two Independent Populations.

Percentiles are used everyday in descriptive statistics and data analysis. In real life, many quantities are normally distributed and normal percentiles are often used to describe those quantities. In life sciences, distributions like exponential, uniform, Weibull and many others are used to model rates, claims, pensions etc. The need to compare two or more independent populations can arise in data analysis. The ratio of percentiles is just one of the many ways of comparing populations. This thesis constructs a large sample confidence interval for the ratio of percentiles whose underlying distributions are known. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the coverage probability of the proposed interval method. The distributions that are considered in this thesis are the normal, uniform and exponential distributions

Government Infrastructure Spending and Economic Growth in Kenya: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model Approach

Purpose: Since independence, the Government of Kenya has pursued many objectives, one being economic growth. Over the previous few many years, government expenditure has been developing faster than the GDP growth. Infrastructure, one of the components of public spending, has also experienced tremendous growth in government spending and development, which has not been directly reflected in the GDP growth rate. Following such situation, it calls for analyzing the impact that government infrastructure expenditure has on economic growth in Kenya with a focal point on three sectors beneath infrastructure that the public sector spends closely on; transport, energy and fuel, and Information Communication and Technology (ICT). The study\u27s overall objective is to find out the effects of government spending on the three sampled sectors of government infrastructure on economic growth in Kenya and then draw policy implications from the findings. The specific objectives were; to investigate the effect of transport infrastructure expenditure on economic growth in Kenya, to examine the effect of energy &amp; fuel infrastructure expenditure on economic growth in Kenya, and to examine the effect of ICT infrastructure expenditure on economic growth in Kenya. Further, Bounds F-test to cointegration as well as the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) were used to realize the objectives. Methodology: The data was collected covered 1990 - 2020 for the three sectors of infrastructure: transport, energy &amp; fuel, and ICT. Several tests on the time series data were carried out on the secondary data obtained, after which (ARDL) was employed in analysing the data. Findings: The outcome showed that government expenditure on transport, energy, fuel, and ICT infrastructure sectors affected economic growth either in the short or the long run. Based on the ECM regression findings, the long-run regression outcome revealed that expenditure on energy and fuel promotes economic growth. On the contrast, the findings showed that government expenditure on transport and ICT sectors exhibited a negative effect on GDP growth rate. Public expenditure on transport and ICT infrastructure sectors positively impacted economic growth in the short term, while the energy and fuel sectors exhibited a negative impact on GDP. Other control variables inclusive of trade openness and FDI showed either a positive or negative effect on economic growth either in long or short run. Inflation, particularly, exhibited a negative effect on GDP in the long run, in addition to within the short run. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Based on the empirical findings, this study validates the Keynesian theory which stipulates that public expenditure positively contributes to economic growth. Based on this theory, public expenditure is an exogenous factor capable of being applied as a policy instrument in promoting economic growth

Chylous Leakage Post-mastectomy and Axillary Dissection

Chylous leakage is a rare complication following mastectomy and axillary dissection. We report a case of a 46-year-old female who underwent modified radical mastectomy and developed chylous leakage. She was treated successfully with conservative management. Keywords: Chylous leakage, chyle, mastectomy, axillary dissectio