Kenya at A Junction: Women, Violence and Peace

This paper explores the intersection of women and violence and peace in community in the context of the terror attack in Westgate shopping mall and peace efforts in Kenya. For over forty years, Kenya knew peace but suddenly Kenya is at a junction, at an intersection of global transnational conflict. The role of women both as perpetrators of violence and as harbingers of development and peace is examined. Cases shall be highlighted and possibilities analysed where women in ways that are unique from or similar to males, strive towards embracing peace and deliberately working towards environments where women and men and children feel safe and where children can grow and develop free from terror, rape, violence and loss of life. Keywords: Women, Gender, Violence, Terror, Peace, Community Developmen

Social Cultural Challenges Affecting Women Leaders of Self Help Groups in Bahati Ward, Nakuru County

Self-help groups aim at promoting socio-economic development among the poor especially women, yet they are often faced with challenges that affect the groups’ leadership which ends up affecting the groups’ performance. In Bahati Ward, for example, 7 out of 95 women groups and 2 out of 33 mixed self-help groups had gone dormant by the end of 2013. The purpose of this study was to investigate socio-cultural challenges affecting women leaders of self-help groups in Bahati ward. The study was carried out using a survey research design. The study was carried out on a population of 321 respondents. Stratified sampling purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 97 respondents. Data was collected using Questionnaire and an interview schedule which were validated using expert opinion from lecturers at Egerton University, Department of Community Development Studies, who examined and gave advice on the face and content validity. The Questionnaire was pilot tested in two self-help groups in the neighboring Kiamaina ward, and was used after achieving a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.78. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of percentages and frequencies. Qualitative data collected from interviews was coded and organized into emerging themes and sub-themes.  The study found out that the socio-cultural challenges that affect women leader SHGs are lack of common goals in a group, illiteracy among members, little respect for female leaders, and low social class integration. The county and national government should organize training for women leaders on business management, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing. Likewise, they should review their policies on long procedures followed by the group members to register their groups and to acquire government funding. Keywords: Socio-cultural challenges, Women Leaders, Leadershi

Influence of Land Tenure on Gender Participation in Management of Water Projects in Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru

Most water projects in Kenya, account for women having fewer opportunities in decision making committees than the men counter parts. In Njoro sub-county there are different ethnic groups who utilize land and water differently as a result of  difference in socio-cultural backgrounds which in-turn affect gender participation in management. Kenya as a country has made great efforts to entrench gender issues in management of water projects but have been affected by socio-cultural factors such as land tenure which derail realisation of gender equality and equity in water management. Administration of water users association projects have been decentralised by the government through enactment of water Act 2002, which advocates for gender equity and equality in participation but this, has not been fully translated into practice in water and sanitation projects. In Njoro sub-county there are several water users’ association projects in which men and women perform different function in management as a result of different socio-cultural backgrounds. Despite the role played by women and men in management of water as a resource, and the efforts that the government has made in enhancing women’s participation in management of water resources, there appears to be an existing gender gap between policy and practice. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the influence of land tenure on gender participation in the management of water projects in Njoro Sub-county. Keywords: Land tenure, Gender participation, Management, Water projects

Influence of One Third Gender Rule on Gender Participation in Management of Water Projects in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya

In Kenya the importance of one third gender rule in management of rural water supply projects has often been emphasized, yet the implementation of the policy has not been fully operationalized into action. Project managers and management committees in rural water projects have not perceived the importance of gender aspects as potential contributor to sustainability of water supplies projects. However, the dynamics of power relations between women and men in management committees is commonly influenced by socio-cultural factors that perpetuate the subordinate position of women in management affairs of water projects. In Njoro sub-county some water management committees, do not put into consideration one third gender rule in electing or appointing leaders in leadership position. This paper therefore focuses on one third gender rule on water resource management in Kenya with the intension of filling the gap between policy and practice. Key words: One-third gender policy, Gender participation, Water projects, Management

Dual and targeted photodynamic therapy ablation of bacterial and cancer cells using phthalocyanines and porphyrins in the presence of carbon-based nanomaterials

Phthalocyanines (Pcs) and porphyrins bearing substituents that possess antibacterial/anticancer properties are used as photosensitizers (PS) for the first time in the work. For targeting specificity and improved photoactivity, the PSs were afterward functionalized with carbon nanomaterials such as graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) via covalent conjugation (amide or ester bonds) or by non-covalent conjugation (π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions). Furthermore, the PSs-DNDs nanoconjugates were conjugated to either chitosan-capped silver nanoparticles (CSAg) via amide bonds or to the bare silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using the silver- nitrogen affinity. The as-synthesized nanoconjugates were also fully characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic methods together with thermal analysis. The potential photocytotoxicity of the complexes alone and their nanoconjugates against S. aureus and/or E. coli planktonic and biofilm cultures has been evaluated in vitro. Compared to the non- quaternized PSs, the cationic analogs exhibited a higher photodynamic inactivation against the planktonic cells with log10 reduction values above 9 in the viable count using a concentration of ca. 1.25 μM following 30 min exposure to light (Light dose: 943 J/cm2 for Pcs and 250 mW/cm2 for porphyrins). Whereas, at a concentration of ca. 100 μM the cationic PSs showed complete eradication of biofilms upon 30 min exposure to light. As a result of conjugation to carbon-based nanomaterials and silver nanoparticles, the compounds proved to be more effective as they exhibited stronger antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities on the multi-drug resistant bacteria strains due to synergetic effect, compared to PSs alone. This suggests that the newly prepared nanohybrids (PS concentration ca. 100 μM) could be used as potential antimicrobial agents in the treatment of biofilm-related infections. The target nanoconjugates showed all the advantages of two different groups existing on a single entity. In light of the potential advantages of combined chemotherapy and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT), this work reports for the first time the use of PACT-ciprofloxacin (CIP) dual therapy using selected indium quaternized PSs which showed higher photoactivity with complete eradication of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria biofilms at concentrations of 8 μM of PS versus 2 μg/mL of the antibiotic following 15 min irradiation time (light dose: 471 J/cm2 for Pcs and fluence: 250 mW/cm2 for porphyrins) on S. aureus. Whereas the total killing of E. coli was obtained when combining 8 or 16 μM of PS combined with 4 μg/mL of CIP. The combined treatment resulted in the complete eradication of the matured biofilms with the highest log10 reduction values of 7.05 and 7.20 on S. aureus and E. coli, respectively. Used as a model, positively charged dimethylamino-chalcone Pcs also exhibited interesting photodynamic therapy (PDT) activity against MCF-7 cancer cells giving IC50 values of 17.9 and 7.4 μM, respectively following 15 min irradiation. Additionally, the TD-B3LYP/LanL2DZ calculations were run on the dimethylaminophenyl- porphyrins to compare the singlet excitation energies of quaternized and non-quaternized porphyrins in vacuo. the study shows excellent agreement between time-dependent density- functional theory (TD-DFT) exciting energies and the experimental S1>S0 excitation energies. The small deviation observed between the calculated and experimental spectra arises from the solvent effect. The excitation energies observed in these UV-Vis spectra mostly originated from electron promotion between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) for the less intense band and the HOMO-1 for the most intense band of the ground states to the lower unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the excited states.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Chemistry, 202

The Influence of Selected Factors of Motivation on Women’s Participation in Contract Sugar Cane Farming in Mumias Division, Kakamega County, Kenya

Challenges facing women are a major source of inequality often discriminating against them specifically in the agricultural labour market. Unless women farmers in households are motivated to be actors in contract farming activities and programs, the impact of such interventions remain insignificant in transforming their lives and the lives of others.As the contribution of women in contract farming diminishes in the rural households where they form the majority in crop production within the regional and national economy, family livelihoods are severely affected. This paper examines the influence of selected factors on women’s participation in contract sugarcane farming in Mumias Division, Kakamega County, Kenya. The study used cross-sectional design. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 118 women engaged in contract sugarcane farming in the households.  In addition, two-focus discussion groups (FGDs) each comprising eight women were selected purposively. Data was collected using interviews and FGD guides. The validity and reliability of the instruments were ascertained using content validity and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha respectively. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results of the study indicated that most of the women were highly influenced by property ownership, membership in advocacy bodies, and representation in investment institutions with a significance of 0.000, 0.000 and 0.000 respectively. The study recommends that sound policies and mechanisms by sugar Industry management and government be adopted. This would serve to ensure that the energy of women that is directed into contract sugarcane farming to upscale Industry production indeed benefits the women’s livelihoods at household level. Keywords: Women, contract sugarcane farming, households, livelihoods, participation

Enhanced photo-ablation effect of positively charged phthalocyanines-detonation nanodiamonds nanoplatforms for the suppression of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli planktonic cells and biofilms

Photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PACT) is a powerful technic recommended to eliminate life-threatening pathogens that cause localized and superficial infections as pathogens cannot develop resistance to it. For this reason, new positively charged chalcone substituted zinc (3a) and indium (4a) metalated phthalocyanines (Pcs) were synthesized and were π-π interacted with detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) nanoparticles to form new water soluble nanoplatfoms 3a@DNDs and 4a@DNDs. The conjugates generated high singlet oxygen quantum yields (ΦΔ) in water (1% DMSO, used for PACT studies) with values of 0.46 and 0.47 for 3a@DNDs and 4a@DNDs, respectively. Hence, they were tested for PACT against biofilms of S. aureus and E. coli, as well as their planktonic cells. The quaternized Pcs alone 3a and 4a as well as their nanoconjugates 3a@DNDs and 4a@DNDs were effective PACT agents with log10 CFU > 9 for E. coli and S. aureus. The quaternized derivatives were found to have higher ability to completely suppress both planktonic and biofilms of S. aureus and E. coli in vitro. Therefore, they could be used as appropriate photosensitive agents

Combination of photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy and ciprofloxacin to combat S. aureus and E. coli resistant biofilms

Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) coupled with an antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIP), was investigated using two indium metallated cationic photosensitizers, a porphyrin (1) and a phthalocyanine (2). Applying PACT followed by the antibiotic treatment led to a remarkable reduction in the biofilm cell survival of two antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, S. aureus (Gram-positive) and E. coli (Gram-nenative). Treating both bacteria strains with PACT alone showed no significant activity at 32 µM with 15 min irradiation, while CIP alone exhibited a minimum biofilm inhibition concentration (MBIC) at 4 and 8 µg/mL on S. aureus and E. coli, respectively following 24 h incubation. The combined treatment resulted in the complete eradication of the matured biofilms with high log10 reduction values of 7.05 and 7.20 on S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, at low concentrations. It was found that 15 min PACT irradiation of 8 µM of complexes (1 and 2) combined with 2 µg/mL of CIP have a 100% reduction of the resistant S. aureus biofilms. Whereas the total killing of E. coli was obtained when combining 8 µM of complex 1 and 16 µM of complex 2 both combined with 4 µg/mL of CIP

Novel cationic-chalcone phthalocyanines for photodynamic therapy eradication of S. aureus and E. coli bacterial biofilms and MCF-7 breast cancer

New tetrasubstituted zinc (II) and indium (III) phthalocyanines bearing dimethylamino chalcone group (complexes 3 and 4) as well as their quaternized analogs (3a and 4a) have been assessed for their photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer as well as photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy activities against biofilms and planktonic cultures of pathogenic bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Compared to the non-quaternized phthalocyanines 3 and 4, the cationic phthalocyanines 3a and 4a exhibit a higher photodynamic inactivation against the planktonic cells with log reduction values above 9 at a concentration of 1.25 µM. This was attributed to the positive charge which enhances cellular uptake. More interestingly, 3a and 4a show a higher photodynamic inactivation (less than 3% of S. aureus survived) on their biofilm counterparts thanks to their stronger affinity to these cells. 3a and 4a Pcs also exhibited interesting PDT activity against MCF-7 cancer cells giving IC50 values of 17.9 and 7.4 μM, respectively following 15 min irradiation. The obtained results in this work show that the positively charged phthalocyanines 3a and 4a are potential antibacterial photosensitizers that show some selectivity toward the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as MCF-7 breasts cancer cells

In vitro photoinactivation of S. aureus and photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline by novel phthalocyanine-graphene quantum dots nano-assemblies

A novel asymmetrical zinc (II) phthalocyanine (Pc) 4 bearing three dimethoxy groups and one carboxyl group was linked to glutathione capped graphene quantum dots (GQDs) by the reaction of carboxylic acid substituent on Pc 4 with the amino group on the GQDs. On the other side, the symmetrical Pc analog 3 was linked to the same nanoparticles through π-π interactions. The as-formed nano-photosensitizers were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods and their photophysicochemical properties were investigated as well. Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy was performed on the planktonic cells of S. aureus strain. And the results show that these nano assemblies were able to completely inhibit the metabolic activity of the resistant bacteria strain S. aureus with a 10.26 log reduction in the viable count. Again, asymmetrical Pc showed higher photocatalytic activity compared to the symmetrical complex with higher kobs and fast initial rates for the former. The photocatalysis obeyed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model. The target conjugates showed all the advantages of two different groups existing on a single entity