Functional soil property maps are just a click away

With data provided by the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS), farmers, agricultural experts, and natural resource managers will be able to identify the best options for sustainably improving crop production and better managing the land, including contributing to better ecosystem services management at regional, national, and local levels. The AfSIS project involves probing the landscape of sub-Saharan Africa, using a variety of highly accurate digital soil mapping techniques including remote sensing, infrared and x-ray spectroscopy scanning techniques, to create detailed soil maps. The data generated will also allow climatic change prediction with soil as a major input into the modeling. Launched in January 2009, and using 60 randomly selected 10 x 10 km sampling locations to characterize the soils, the AfSIS project has completed 25 of the 60 projected sampling locations making the objective of completing the remaining 35 locations feasible by October 2012. Countries so far sampled include Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. The information generated so far is now freely available from AfSIS website: www.africasoils

Monitoring of CD4+ T-cell counts in HIV infected patients on Arthrospira platensis supplement in Kisumu, Kenya

Consumption of natural products with high nutritional value can improve nutritional and immune status of HIV patients. Arthrospira platensis, is an alga that grows naturally in some tropical lakes. It is rich in nutritional contents and anti-oxidants. This study investigated whether use of Arthrospira platensis by HIV positive adults affected their CD4+ T-cell counts. This was a prospective paired study design with two independent groups: the study group and a control group. The findings of individual patients before and after intervention were also paired. Patients with CD4+ T-cell counts above 250 cells/1l were enrolled in Nyanza Provincial Hospital, Kenya. Patients in the study group used A. platensis while those in the control group used the standard multi-vitamin supplements. Fifty-eight patients completed the study [28 in A. platensis (study) group and 30 in multivitamin (control) group]. The mean CD4+ T-cell counts among patients in the study group increased from 485 ± 163 to 516 ± 181 cells/1l (p = 0.110) while in the multivitamin group they declined from 555 ± 221 to 472 ± 174 cells/1l (p = 0.001). It was concluded that A. platensis increased CD4+ T-cell counts in HIV infected adults and it was well tolerated at a maximum dry dose of 2g/day when used for 1-6 months

Cytokine expression in malaria-infected non-human primate placentas

Malaria parasites are known to mediate the induction of inflammatory immune responses at the maternal-foetal interface during placental malaria (PM) leading to adverse consequences like pre-term deliveries and abortions. Immunological events that take place within the malaria-infected placental micro-environment leading to retarded foetal growth and disruption of pregnancies are among the critical parameters that are still in need of further elucidation. The establishment of more animal models for studying placental malaria can provide novel ways of circumventing problems experienced during placental malaria research in humans such as inaccurate estimation of gestational ages. Using the newly established olive baboon (Papio anubis)-Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi) H strain model of placental malaria, experiments were carried out to determine placental cytokine profiles underlying the immunopathogenesis of placental malaria. Four pregnant olive baboons were infected with blood stage P. knowlesi H strain parasites on the one fiftieth day of gestation while four other uninfected pregnant olive baboons were maintained as uninfected controls. After nine days of infection, placentas were extracted from all the eight baboons through cesarean surgery and used for the processing of placental plasma and sera samples for cytokine sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Results indicated that the occurrence of placental malaria was associated with elevated concentrations of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-{\alpha}) and interleukin 12 (IL-12). Increased levels of IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10 and interferon gamma (IFN-{\gamma}) levels were detected in uninfected placentas. These findings match previous reports regarding immunity during PM thereby demonstrating the reliability of the olive baboon-P. knowlesi model for use in further studies.Comment: Open Veterinary Journal 1st June 2012. Seven pages, Three Figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1201.323

A practical guide for collecting farmers socio-economic and agronomic data: an AfSIS Project field protocol

One of the aims of the AfSIS (Africa Soil Information Service) project is to document farmers’ characteristics and practices to determine their ability to engage in effective soil and crop management. This document outlines how agronomic surveys are integrated with knowledge of farmers’ condition, wealth, status, access to knowledge, and access to markets, using pre-designed questionnaires and field surveys, and including the use of Global Positioning System-based field surveys and Geographic Information Systems

Comparative description of land use and characteristics of belowground biodiversity benchmark sites in Kenya = Descripción comparativa de usos del suelo y características de la diversidad del subsuelo en sitios empleados como referencia en Kenia

In Kenya, the below-ground biodiversity (BGBD) project selected two benchmark sites for the inventory of soil biota; these included the Irangi and Ngangao forest sites in the Mount Kenya region of Embu District and the Taita Hills area of Taita Taveta District. The areas selected by the project were located in biodiversity hotspots that are supporting rare and endemic plant and animal species. For more in-depth studies and analysis, the broader Embu and Taita benchmark areas were further sub-sampled into smaller areas that we refer to as study areas, designated by the symbols E1 and E2 for Embu and T1 and T2 for Taita benchmark. Within the study areas, we plotted and sampled 200x200 square grids for collecting soil as well as socio-economic data. Site characterization was carried out using the method provided by FAO-UNESCO for characterizing and classifying soils. Further to this, attempts were made to establish land use intensity (LUI) and land productivity (PI) indices that provided land condition indicators. The indicators offered insights into the quantitative relationship between the environmental conditions and land use. Parameters used in the computation of the land use intensity were; total quantity of inputs per ha, the frequency of input application, cropping intensity and cultivation frequency. The soils in Taita Taveta benchmark site were classified as Plinthic Lixisols, Plinthic Acrisols, Dystric Cambisols and Chromic Luvisols, while those from Embu ones were Rhodic Nitisols, Humic Nitisols, Humic Acrisols, Haplic Acrisols and Umbric Andosols. The highest level of soil organic carbon recorded was 7.6% in the forest and the lowest value of 1.6% in intensely cultivated maize-based and horticultural systems. Low land use intensity gradients were observed in the forests (LUI40%). The productivity index (PI) followed a similar trend, being highest in the natural forest and grassland (40-50%) and lowest in horticultural and maize-based systems (15-20%) It was concluded that the decline in soil quality and productivity was linked to increased land use intensification and lack of knowledge of the appropriate management practices for sustainable ecosystem functions and services

Idealised EPR states from non-phase matched parametric down conversion

Entanglement of high dimensional states is becoming increasingly important for quantum communication and computing. The most common source of entangled photons is spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC), where the degree of frequency and momentum entanglement is determined by the non-linear interaction volume. Here we show that by reducing the length of a highly non-linear material to the micrometer scale it is possible to relax the longitudinal phase matching condition and reach record levels of transverse wavevector entanglement. From a micro-sized layer of lithium niobate we estimate the number of entangled angular modes to be over 1200. The entanglement is measured both directly using correlation measurements and indirectly using stimulated emission tomography. The high entanglement of the state generated can be used to massively increase the quantum information capacity of photons, but it also opens up the possibility to improve the resolution of many quantum imaging techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Switch from 200 to 350 CD4 baseline count: what it means to HIV care and treatment programs in Kenya

Introduction: With the increasing population of infected individuals in Africa and constrained resources for care and treatment, antiretroviralmanagement continues to be an important public health challenge. Since the announcement of World Health Organization recommendation andguidelines for initiation of antiretroviral Treatment at CD4 count below 350, many developing countries are adopting this strategy in their countryspecific guidelines to care and treatment of HIV and AIDS. Despite the benefits to these recommendations, what does this switch from 200 to 350CD4 count mean in antiretroviral treatment demand? Methods: A Multi-centre study involving 1376 patients in health care settings in Kenya. CD4count was carried out by flow cytometry among the HIV infected individuals in Kenya and results analyzed in view of the In-country and the newCD4 recommendation for initiation of antiretroviral treatment. Results: Across sites, 32% of the individual required antiretroviral at <200 CD4Baseline, 40% at <250 baseline count and 58% based on the new criteria of <350 CD4 Count. There were more female (68%) than Male(32%).Different from <200 and <250 CD4 baseline criteria, over 50% of all age groups required antiretroviral at 350 CD4 baseline. Age groupsbetween 41-62 led in demand for ART. Conclusion: With the new guidelines, demand for ARVs has more than doubled with variations notedwithin regions and age groups. As A result, HIV Care and Treatment Programs should prepare for this expansion for the benefits to be realized.Key words: CD4, New criteria, HIV, AIDS, care and treatment, ARV initiatio

E. coli and Salmonella Contamination of Tomato Marketed and Consumed in Nairobi Metropolis

Tomato, a worldwide consumed commodity for its nutritive values can harbour Salmonella and E.coli. Tomato can contribute to diarrheal illnesses; and associated burden in households. Seasonal bacterial analyses to detect enterobacteria were conducted from January to June 2017 in Nairobi. The study shows that, the vegetable during the study period is 94% contaminated with E. coli and 28% with Salmonella. February had the highest contamination during the dry season (2.37 log10cfu.ml-1 >2; p≤ 0.05) and May (2.8 log10cfu.ml-1 >2; p≤ 0.05) the highest in wet season. Thus, seasons have influence on microbial contamination in tomato. Bacteria multiplication slows in dry period and increases in wet season. Increase of bacteria from March (end of dry season or beginning of rains) to high presence in May (end of rains) might come with more health concerns if attention is not paid to ready-to-eat vegetables. Consumers purchasing from open air markets seem more at risk of bacterial infection (Kangemi 1.84±0.159; Githurai 2.02±0.1815; Wakulima 1.97±0.24 of E. coli contamination) compared to those who use supermarkets (Nakumatt W. 1.54±0.134; Uchumi Sarit C. 1.27±0.105). Although most tomatoes were washed and cleaned, bacteria levels were still a threat to health. Surfactants from pesticides might contribute to tomatoes infection as they are able to wound skins of crops and open ways to bacterial contamination. With sudden bacterial increase in wet seasons (Kangemi 2.98±0.225kl; Githurai 2.75±0.157efghi; Wakulima 2.69±0.067ghijk; Nakumatt 1.78±0.092bcd; Uchumi 1.54±0.215cde), consumers might experience more symptoms of enteric bacteria. Special attention should be paid in wet times as best quality of tomato at sight is not necessarily safe for direct consumption without further processing. These findings might help in understanding why consumers of salad might be exposed to symptoms of enteric bacteria in wet times. Food handlers, health workers, consumers and policy designers should be informed of this risk. Keywords: E. coli, Salmonella spp, bacteria, season, contaminatio