Analysis of lead content in paints used for face painting in Nairobi county

Face painting is a common practice among young children. 59 samples from 7 manufacturers of paints used for face painting in Nairobi County were purchased and analysed for lead content using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The labels were also examined for batch number, date of manufacture and expiry as well as instructions for use. All samples analysed were found to contain lead with the highest being 10.5413 ppm. Only one manufacturer declared on the label that the paint was intended for use in face painting.Keywords: Face painting, lead conten

Ecology and genomics of an important crop wild relative as a prelude to agricultural innovation

Domesticated species are impacted in unintended ways during domestication and breeding. Changes in the nature and intensity of selection impart genetic drift, reduce diversity, and increase the frequency of deleterious alleles. Such outcomes constrain our ability to expand the cultivation of crops into environments that differ from those under which domestication occurred. We address this need in chickpea, an important pulse legume, by harnessing the diversity of wild crop relatives. We document an extreme domestication-related genetic bottleneck and decipher the genetic history of wild populations. We provide evidence of ancestral adaptations for seed coat color crypsis, estimate the impact of environment on genetic structure and trait values, and demonstrate variation between wild and cultivated accessions for agronomic properties. A resource of genotyped, association mapping progeny functionally links the wild and cultivated gene pools and is an essential resource chickpea for improvement, while our methods inform collection of other wild crop progenitor species

Pas de titre en français.

This study focuses on the organisation, and transformation of agriculture among the Kipsigis of Western Kenya in the period preceding and during colonialism. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and subjected to corroborative analysis using the historical method. An eclectic approach borrowing certain paradigms from the underdevelopment and dependency and articulation of modes of production theories were employed as the major tools of analysis. From the beginning it is demonstrated that the pre-colonial agriculture in the Kipsigisland was dynamic, innovative, diverse, efficient, self-reliant and suited to the needs of the Kipsigis people. It is argued that the Kipsigis agricultural organisation was sound and rational and based on the people's knowledge of their environment.The colonial penetration set a chain of events in motion which systematically modified, marginalised and subordinated the Kipsigis indigenous agriculture. Animal husbandry fell prey to the colonial manouvrers of depleting the Kipsigis stock. The Kipsigis farmers were peasantised and their role as commodity producers was articulated and firmly enforced. Part of the Kipsigis labour was proletarianised as migrant and resident workers in settler farms, and later as a semi-proletariat in the Kipsigisland. The Kipsigis local industry was marginalised by the incoming merchant capital and as more and more Kipsigisland was alienated for European settler farming activities, the Kipsigis indigenous land tenure systems was gradually changed and tended to forms of privatization. However, it is argued, indigenous agricultural organization did not disappear; it kept readjusting, was articulated and co-existed with the colonial capitalist sector in a contradictory manner of "destruction/preservation" or"conservation/dissolution". It emerges more clearly from the study that although agricultural land, animal husbandry, labour, and trade policies were aimed at achieving maximum benefits for the white settlers and the colonial state, the Kipsigis seem to have reacted in their own ways to exploit such policies for their own economic advantages. The Kipsigis were definitely not passive to the new colonial agricultural policies - they perceived them correctly accepting those that were of benefit to them while rejecting the undesirable ones, even if for a while as was the case of maize.Pas de résumé en français

The African Eggplant

The African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) is a promising nutritious African vegetable that is also grown in South and Central America and certain parts of Italy and France. There are four known cultivar groups of the African eggplant, which together with its progenitor, Solanum anguivi, form the hypervariable scarlet eggplant complex. Despite its importance as food, medicine, and source of disease resistance genes, there has been limited research investment in the improvement of the African eggplant and it remains an orphan crop. We review the botanical description of the cultivar groups, the available genetic and genomic resources, and the germplasm conservation efforts within the primary and secondary genepools. We present the recently published draft genome sequence and make detailed comparisons of the genome with other genomes within the Solanaceae family. We further demonstrate the immediate utilization of the draft genome for gene discovery by retrieving orthologous seed dormancy candidate genes that can be characterized to improve this trait in the African eggplant. We finally provide evidence of why the African eggplant is underutilized and make some recommendations for future breeding, research investment, and marketing efforts that promise to enhance its utilization

Exploring the role of Community Health Workers on research studies focussed on Community Health Workers between 2017-2023: A protocol for a scoping review and survey.

Over the past decade there has been a growth in research studies exploring the role of Community Health Workers (CHWs). Yet, despite this, the extent to which CHWs are part of the research teams themselves is unclear. This study aims to explore the indexed literature on CHWs over the period 2017-2023 to explore the extent to which CHWs are part of research teams

Data from: Ecology and genomics of an important crop wild relative as a prelude to agricultural innovation

Domesticated species are impacted in unintended ways during domestication and breeding. Changes in the nature and intensity of selection impart genetic drift, reduce diversity, and increase the frequency of deleterious alleles. Such outcomes constrain our ability to expand the cultivation of crops into environments that differ from those under which domestication occurred. We address this need in chickpea, an important pulse legume, by harnessing the diversity of wild crop relatives. We document an extreme domestication-related genetic bottleneck and decipher the genetic history of wild populations. We provide evidence of ancestral adaptations for seed coat color crypsis, estimate the impact of environment on genetic structure and trait values, and demonstrate variation between wild and cultivated accessions for agronomic properties. A resource of genotyped, association mapping progeny functionally links the wild and cultivated gene pools and is an essential resource chickpea for improvement, while our methods inform collection of other wild crop progenitor species