In memoriam: John Francis Marchmant Middleton

Obituary in memory of John Francis Marchmant Middleto

Kumbukizi ya Kennedy Waliaula Walibora

Mwandishi mashuhuri na msomi mtajika wa fasihi ya Kiswahili Kennedy Waliaula Walibora aliyezaliwa mnamo Januari 6, 1965 aliaga dunia mnamo April 10, 2020. Kimani Njogu, msomi mweledi wa fasihi ya Kiswahili na mwanaharakati wa kijamii, anamwenzi Marehemu Ken Walibora akisisitiza kuwa alitoa mchango madhubuti wenye maki na kina kwa lugha na fasihi ya Kiswahili. Kwa hilo, atakumbukwa na vizazi vijavyo.Famous Swahili writer and renowned scholar Kennedy Waliaula Walibora who was born on January 6, 1965 passed away on April 10, 2020. Kimani Njogu, accomplished scholar of Swahili literature and social activist, honours the late Ken Walibora by emphasizing his most remarkable achievements and deep impact on Swahili language and literature. He will be remembered by generations to come

Cultural and Creative Industries Supporting Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Mapping and Analysis

Over the last 20 years, the power of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as enablers and drivers of sustainable development has been broadly recognised. They are viewed as critical to social cohesion, social and economic transformation, and political stability. For this reason, it is important to explore and analyse what kind of CCIs supporting strategies, programmes and projects are in place in Sub-Saharan Africa, how they are working and their practical impacts. Furthermore, to deeply understand these dynamics and be able to provide accurate recommendations, this research looked not only at the practical cases of programmes developed multilaterally by the EU but also those developed individually by European countries’ cultural institutions. The authors show how, where and why CCIs programmes are implemented and put forward a case for more sustainable projects with a stronger focus on local ownership

Kiswahili Katika Enzi ya Utandawazi: Baina ya Afrika na Amerika

The rise of Swahili in the American academy in the 1960s was prompted by two forces: African identity politics among African Americans, on the one hand, and the politics of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union, on the other. Both these sources of Swahili ascendency were themselves a response to the unfolding dynamics and counter-dynamics of independence politics in “Swahiliphone” Africa, that is in the East African nations where the Swahili language was in wide use. But now that the Cold War is over more or less, and the nature of African American politics has undergone significant change in focus, what is the fate and direction of Swahili studies in the USA? This is the central question that this article will seek to address as it considers, at the same time, the shifting disciplinary areas with which the study of Swahili has been associated. In the process the article will also touch on the state of Swahili studies in some other spaces of the world

Parenting Styles as Predictors of Suicidal Behaviors among Selected Public Secondary School Students in Embu County, Kenya

Secondary school students are faced with challenges of navigating safely through their adolescence in a world full of depressive challenges. As adolescents’ transit this stage they increasingly face a milliard of challenges which are depressive and at times lead to suicidal behaviors.   Parents play a primary role in socializing their children on dealing with life challenges; however, the extent to which parenting styles predetermine students’ suicidal behaviors remains obscure. The study investigated parenting styles, (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive indulgent and permissive neglectful) as predictors of suicidal behaviors among students in Embu county. The study was guided by the objective; to investigate the extent to which parenting styles significantly predict secondary school students’ suicidal behaviors. The study was informed by Bronfernbrenners’ bioecological theory and parenting styles theory by Maccoby and Martins. Survey research design was adopted for the study.  Stratified random sampling method was used to select a sample of 15 schools.  Stratified random sampling and systematic random sampling were used to select 399 participants (221 girls and 178 boys). Purposive sampling was used to select 15 Guidance and counseling teachers and 70 secondary school drop outs. A reliability of cronbach alpha (α) of α = 0.82 for parenting styles questionnaires was reported and for risky behaviors α = 0.78.  The major findings of the study based on the objective of  the study showed that parenting styles have a positive and significant prediction of risky sexual behaviors among secondary school students, and that  parenting styles accounts for; 57.2% (R2=0.572, p< 0.05) of secondary school students risky sexual behaviors, The study recommended that, the government through the ministry of education (MOE) and the school boards of management maintain a trained resident school counselors or psychologists in schools, who do not have teaching duties, in order to enable them have enough time to identify students with depressive signs which are precursors of suicidal behavior. Such counselors would be available to help students and   make follow-ups with parents. Keywords:  Parenting styles, authoritative, authoritarian, permissive indulgence permissive neglectful, students, suicidal behaviors

Sesquiterpene lactones from Vernonia cinerascens sch. bip. and their in vitro antitrypanosomal activity

In the endeavor to obtain new antitrypanosomal agents, particularly sesquiterpene lactones, from Kenyan plants of the family Asteraceae, Vernonia cinerascens Sch. Bip. was investigated. Bioactivity-guided fractionation and isolation in conjunction with LC/MS-based dereplication has led to the identification of vernodalol (1) and isolation of vernodalin (2), 11β,13-dihydrovernodalin (3), 11β,13-dihydrovernolide (4), vernolide (5), 11β,13-dihydrohydroxyvernolide (6), hydroxyvernolide (7), and a new germacrolide type sesquiterpene lactone vernocinerascolide (8) from the dichloromethane extract of V. cinerascens leaves. Compounds 3-8 were characterized by extensive analysis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic and HR/MS spectrometric data. All the compounds were evaluated for their in vitro biological activity against bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and for cytotoxicity against the mammalian cell line L6. Vernodalin (2) was the most active compound with an IC50 value of 0.16 µM and a selectivity index of 35. Its closely related congener 11β,13-dihydrovernodalin (3) registered an IC50 value of 1.1 µM and a selectivity index of 4.2

Preparation of sesquiterpene lactone-loaded pla nanoparticles and evaluation of their antitrypanosomal activity

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also commonly known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people in poorly developed regions in sub-Saharan Africa. There is no satisfactory treatment for this infection. The investment necessary to bring new drugs to the market is a big deterrent to drug development, considering that the affected communities form a non-lucrative sector. However, natural products and many sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) in particular are very strong trypanocides. Research and applications of nano-drug delivery systems such as nanoparticles (NPs) have undergone unprecedented growth in the recent past. This is mainly due to the advantages offered by these systems, such as targeted delivery of the drug to the place of action (cell, parasite, etc), sustained release of the drug, increased bioavailability, reduced drug dosage, and reduction of undesired side effects, among others. In this study, the STLs α-santonin, arglabin, schkuhrin II, vernolepin, and eucannabinolide, all trypanocides, were loaded into polylactic acid (PLA) NPs through an emulsification-diffusion method. The NPs were stable, homogenous, and spherical in shape with a rounded knotty depression like a navel orange. The average particle sizes were 202.3, 220.3, 219.5, 216.9, and 226.4 nm for α-santonin, arglabin, schkuhrin II, vernolepin, and eucannabinolide, respectively. The NPs had encapsulation efficiencies of 94.6, 78.1, 76.8, 60.7, and 78.9% for α-santonin, arglabin, schkuhrin II, vernolepin, and eucannabinolide, respectively. The NPs loaded with arglabin, vernolepin, and eucannabinolide exhibited considerable antitrypanosomal activity against; Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (Tbr); with free drug equivalent IC; 50; values of 3.67, 1.11 and 3.32 µM, respectively. None of the NP formulations displayed cytotoxicity towards mammalian cells (rat skeletal myoblast cell line L6). These results provide new insights into the possibility of incorporating STLs into nanoparticles, which may provide new options for their formulation in order to develop new drugs against HAT

Natural Products-Based Drug Design against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro 3CLpro

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has received global attention due to the serious threat it poses to public health. Since the outbreak in December 2019, millions of people have been affected and its rapid global spread has led to an upsurge in the search for treatment. To discover hit compounds that can be used alone or in combination with repositioned drugs, we first analyzed the pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties of natural products from Brazil’s semiarid region. After, we analyzed the site prediction and druggability of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), followed by docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The best SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complexes revealed that other sites were accessed, confirming that our approach could be employed as a suitable starting protocol for ligand prioritization, reinforcing the importance of catalytic cysteine-histidine residues and providing new structural data that could increase the antiviral development mainly against SARSCoV-2. Here, we selected 10 molecules that could be in vitro assayed in response to COVID-19. Two compounds (b01 and b02) suggest a better potential for interaction with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and could be further studied.Research Dean and Graduate Studies of the Federal University of Pará (PROPESP/UFPA)Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)Brazilian Coordination for Improvement of Personnel Higher Education (CAPES)Bahia Research Foundation (FAPESB, grant numbers APP071/2011, JCB-0039/2013, and RED-008/2013

Research on language and democratization in Kenya

Some text in Swahili (Kiswahili)This study is an attempt at providing an avenue through which Kenya's national language (Kiswahili) can be used in the democratization process in Kenya. In order to set the stage for the development of terms necessary for participation in the constitutional debate, the researcher presents initial arguments for the development of African languages. I discuss the relationship between Kiswahili, Leadership, and Constitutional Reform. In adition, I provide the link between Language and Rural Development. I suggest that African languages have not effectively undergone the process of linguistic engineering. Consequently, they have lagged behind despite advances in science and technology. In an effort to respond to the postcolonial experience, and its current emphasis on globalization, African linguists are seeking a greater presence of African languages in national affairs. This response, the study argues, results from a recognition that African languages were suppressed by the West..