Emerging Themes in African Oral Narratives: A Case Study of Abagusii Community of Western Kenya

The transience and preservation of the oral heritage in Africa has not been accorded due attention. Many critics are on record arguing that the oral heritage in Africa is faced with extinction. For a long time therefore, the focus has been on mere collection and documentation of oral forms for posterity. To the contrary, however, research by such contemporary scholars as Peter Wasamba, Isidore Okpewho, Ruth Finnegan, Abiola Irele, Wanjiku Kabira, Wole Soyinka, among others has proved that the oral tradition is as vibrant as ever, and a lot more complex than presupposed. These scholars have variously argued that the role of orality need not be seen in the past but rather as an art form that serves people across generations and societies. One area that has not been addressed exhaustively, therefore, and which is the loci of this study is the resilience and transience of not just oral narratives but other oral forms as well. It is no longer tenable to argue that oral literature is passed from generation to generation without much of a change. Nor is it plausible to argue that the greatest asset for oral artists is rote memory. As a matter of fact, modern orators have risen above the limitations of memory and performed oral items that are well within the oral tradition and, at the same time, responsive to contemporary realities. In this particular paper, therefore, we seek to address ourselves to both the resilience and transience of oral narratives in the face of shifting social dispensations. Much as we recognize the significance of collecting and preserving oral forms for posterity, there is need to show how various social forces have impacted on the nature and character of the oral forms. The following questions guide our study: i)                     What is the relevance of the oral narrative in a modernizing society? ii)                   What role does the performer or oral artist play in the resilience and transience of oral narratives? iii)                  What salient elements of the oral narrative enable it to be resilient and transient? Key words: traditional narratives, modern narratives, theme, motif, story line, plot, performance, philosophy, transience, variants, oral tradition

Mapping Geological Structures in Ilbisil Area, Kajiado County Using Remote Sensing Techniques

This project is all about the applications of remote sensing techniques in mapping the geological structures in Ilbisil area, Kajiado county. Lineament mapping constitute a very important process in the field of Geology and Earth Sciences. Much of the exploration work, mapping and the exploitation of natural resources including oil and gas, ground water and other hydrocarbons rely on a thorough understanding of the geological structures within an area and the ability to interpret the result from analysis before the exploitation process begins. This increases success rates while reducing cost and time associated with geophysical surveys. Understanding structures is the key to interpreting crustal movements that have shaped the present terrain. Geological structures play an important role in mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and potential hazard identification and monitoring. Structures can also indicate potential locations of oil and gas reserves by characterizing both the underlying subsurface geometry of rock units and the amount of crustal deformation and stress experienced in a certain locale. Remote sensing has the advantage of covering a huge area while data about features at different frequencies recorded in different spectral bands which can be exploited to obtain information about the structural geology of the area. The area of study is characterized by dense forest vegetation with bushes and thickets with difficult access, scarcity and discontinuity of the available outcrops. Geological and structural mapping therefore in this type of environment is difficult, time consuming, expensive and even dangerous and sometimes dangerous. All these factors constitute a major problem for the accurate geological mapping in the area.This study attempts to employ the use of modern satellites technology in trying to map the near surface structures and to compare and update the existing structural and geological maps. Satellite imagery have a synoptic view of the earth’s surface and therefore it is possible to acquire data in inaccessible and in huge areas. The objective of this study is to map the geological structures in Kajiado area using remote sensing techniques. The expected output is to show how the mapping method integrating remote sensing technology is useful for accurate interpretation of geological structures by designing a geodatabase for structural mapping and also to document a methodology for structural mapping using remote sensing technology. The methods to be used in this study include Pan sharpening and image sub-setting, Principal component analysis, Band ratios and combinations, Spatial filtering, Sobel filtering, Edge enhancement and Geodatabase scheme. The materials include; Landsat 8, DEM/ SRTM, Topographical and geological maps and Satellite imagery. Keywords: Geological structure, Remote sensing DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-11-05 Publication date: November 30th 201

Oral acute toxicity study of selected botanical pesticide plants used by subsistence farmers around the Lake Victoria Basin

A survey carried out around the Lake Victoria region showed evidence that people around this region use plant extracts, parts and powders to protect stored food commodities from insect pests. The widely used plants were identified and selected for biosafety assessments namely: Ocimum gratissimum, Tithonia diversifolia, Eucalyptus saligna, Eucalyptus globulus and Cupressus lusitanica. Wistar mice were acclimatized and divided into groups of six. Each mice group was administered with one extract at different concentrations. The extracts were administered orally and the animals were observed for 24 h. A control group was kept which received only the carrier substance orally. The LD50 values were determined by the use of the graphical method and regression analysis. Oral acute toxicity studies established the LD50 values for essential oils of O. gratissimum, E. saligna and C. lusitanica as 4.570, 2.290, and 3.311 mg/kg, respectively. For ethanol extracts, LD50 values were 12.882, 12.302, 14.996 and 11.481 mg/kg for O. gratissimum, E. globulus, C. lusitanica and T. diversifolia, respectively. For the aqueous extracts, the LD50 of T. diversifolia was found to be 12.302 mg/kg. For E. globulus and C. lusitanica, their aqueous LD50s were beyond 15.000 mg/kg. The oral acute toxicity tests showed weak toxicities for all the plant extracts investigated in the study. The low toxicity levels exhibited by these extracts may be the reason why these plant products have been used by local communities for long without adverse effects. Chronic studies should be carried out to assess whether these extracts have serious effects on experimental animals exposed to them at small doses for a long period of time.Key words: Oral acute toxicity, biopesticide, plant extracts, Lake Victoria Basin

Developing dual-resistant cassava to the two major viral diseases

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) are the two important biotic constraints affecting cassava production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Deployment of cassava varieties dually resistant to both diseases is the most effective and realistic way of reducing losses to African farmers. Crosses were carried out between the Tanzanian local cassava variety Namikonga (CBSD resistant/CMD susceptible) with an introduced cassava germplasm AR37-80 (CBSD susceptible/CMD resistant) from South America to develop dually resistant F1 progenies and they were evaluated for 2 seasons at Naliendele in Southern Tanzania which is a CMD and CBSD hotspot area. CMD-resistant progenies had low foliar severities (≤ 1.8 on a five-point scale) similar to CMD resistant parent. CBSD resistant progenies had minimal foliar severity (≤2.0) and root necrosis (≤1.2) similar to the CBSD resistant parent while CBSD tolerant progenies had severe foliar severity of up to 3.3 but minimal root severity (≤ 1.2). Traits with minimal environmental influence also had high heritability (≥0.65) and high selection accuracy (≥0.70) and they included CMD foliar symptoms, CBSD foliar symptoms at 6 MAP, root necrosis, root necrosis incidence, root weight, root number per plant, and harvest index. Correlation analysis showed that the presence of diseases reduces usable roots, root weight, root number per plant, and harvest index. Dual resistance can improve yield as observed in the progenies, Namar 050 and Namar 371 which had high root weights of 27.5 t/ha and 28.2 t/ha with high genetic gains of 56.1% and 58.5%, respectively. Dual resistant progenies identified were Namar 050, Namar 100, Namar 130, Namar 200, Namar 334, Namar 371, and Namar 479 as they had minimal CMD and CBSD symptoms severity (≤ 2.0) and could be used for breeding cassava varieties with superior characteristics

Genotype by environment interactions in identifying cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) resistant to cassava brown streak disease

Cassava landraces were evaluated for resistance to cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) for two cropping seasons at a disease hotspot area in Naliendele, Tanzania. Based on reactions to CBSD, several landraces including Chimaje, Mfaransa and Supa B were considered to be resistant to the disease while Kikwada, Mbuyu, and Nyoka were tolerant. ANOVA revealed that the largest sum of squares (SS) (41.9–86.7%) was attributed to the genotype of the cassava landraces, while a smaller proportion of SS (8.1–38.2%) was due to genotype by environment interactions for all traits tested, which included disease symptoms, root weight, number of roots per plant and dry matter content. Environment accounted for the smallest effect (0.01–26.3%), however, the mean squares was nonetheless significant for a few genotypes, which indicated that their disease expression was indeed influenced by the environment. Increased CBSD severity was associated with low temperatures and rainfall. Increased rainfall towards harvesting led to higher root weight but lower dry matter content in the first cropping season. Correlation analysis showed that the presence of CBSD symptoms reduces the amount of usable roots, total root weight, and root dry matter content. Many resistant/tolerant landraces also had high root weight and dry matter content, and they can be used by farmers to reduce CBSD losses. The landraces described here form novel sources of CBSD resistance that can be used for breeding disease-resistant cassava varieties with superior agronomic characteristics

Genomic epidemiology of Escherichia coli:Antimicrobial resistance through a One Health lens in sympatric humans, livestock and peri-domestic wildlife in Nairobi, Kenya

BackgroundLivestock systems have been proposed as a reservoir for antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria and AMR genetic determinants that may infect or colonise humans, yet quantitative evidence regarding their epidemiological role remains lacking. Here, we used a combination of genomics, epidemiology and ecology to investigate patterns of AMR gene carriage in Escherichia coli, regarded as a sentinel organism.MethodsWe conducted a structured epidemiological survey of 99 households across Nairobi, Kenya, and whole genome sequenced E. coli isolates from 311 human, 606 livestock and 399 wildlife faecal samples. We used statistical models to investigate the prevalence of AMR carriage and characterise AMR gene diversity and structure of AMR genes in different host populations across the city. We also investigated household-level risk factors for the exchange of AMR genes between sympatric humans and livestock.ResultsWe detected 56 unique acquired genes along with 13 point mutations present in variable proportions in human and animal isolates, known to confer resistance to nine antibiotic classes. We find that AMR gene community composition is not associated with host species, but AMR genes were frequently co-located, potentially enabling the acquisition and dispersal of multi-drug resistance in a single step. We find that whilst keeping livestock had no influence on human AMR gene carriage, the potential for AMR transmission across human-livestock interfaces is greatest when manure is poorly disposed of and in larger households.ConclusionsFindings of widespread carriage of AMR bacteria in human and animal populations, including in long-distance wildlife species, in community settings highlight the value of evidence-based surveillance to address antimicrobial resistance on a global scale. Our genomic analysis provided an in-depth understanding of AMR determinants at the interfaces of One Health sectors that will inform AMR prevention and control

Population genomics of <i>Escherichia coli</i> in livestock-keeping households across a rapidly developing urban landscape

Quantitative evidence for the risk of zoonoses and the spread of antimicrobial resistance remains lacking. Here, as part of the UrbanZoo project, we sampled Escherichia coli from humans, livestock and peri-domestic wildlife in 99 households across Nairobi, Kenya, to investigate its distribution among host species in this rapidly developing urban landscape. We performed whole-genome sequencing of 1,338 E. coli isolates and found that the diversity and sharing patterns of E. coli were heavily structured by household and strongly shaped by host type. We also found evidence for inter-household and inter-host sharing and, importantly, between humans and animals, although this occurs much less frequently. Resistome similarity was differently distributed across host and household, consistent with being driven by shared exposure to antimicrobials. Our results indicate that a large, epidemiologically structured sampling framework combined with WGS is needed to uncover strain-sharing events among different host populations in complex environments and the major contributing pathways that could ultimately drive the emergence of zoonoses and the spread of antimicrobial resistance