IMPACT OF PROJECT INITIATION ON PERFORMANCE OF OUTPUT-BASED FUNDED SABASABA URBAN WATER SUPPLY PROJECT

Sabasaba urban water supply project was undertaken in order to increase the number of people in low-income areas within Murang’a County with access to improved water supply; to enable them to have clean water at their doorstep. In carrying out the project, World Bank employed Output-Based Aid scheme to make sure the project achieves its goals. Output-Based Aid funds predetermined project outputs unlike the conventional way of funding inputs. It serves to ensure prudent utilization of funds by shifting performance risk to the organization mandated to deliver services; it also does so by linking outputs to the ultimate payments; hence transparency during project implementation. The study sought to examine the influence of project initiation, project planning, project implementation, and project monitoring on the project performance of Output-Based Aid funded Sabasaba urban water supply project. The study adopted value chain and resource-based theories. A predictive correlation design was used. The target population was 56 employees drawn from Murang’a South Water and Sewerage Company which is the implementing agency for Sabasaba water supply project. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The study results were analysed using SPSS.  The study found that the project initiation had a statistically significant influence on the project performance.  The findings revealed that a unit change in the project initiation would lead to 0.404 changes in the project performance holding the other independent variables constant.  Article visualizations

Diagnostic performance of loop-mediated isothermal amplification and ultra-sensitive rapid diagnostic tests for malaria screening among pregnant women in Kenya

Background: Screen-and-treat strategies with sensitive diagnostic tests may reduce malaria-associated adverse pregnancy outcomes. We conducted a diagnostic accuracy study to evaluate new point-of-care tests to screen pregnant women for malaria at their first antenatal visit in western Kenya. Methods: Consecutively women were tested for Plasmodium infection by expert-microscopy, conventional rapid diagnostic test (cRDT), ultra-sensitive RDT (usRDT), and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Photo-induced electron-transfer polymerase-chain-reaction (PET-PCR) served as the reference standard. Diagnostic performance was calculated and modelled at low parasite densities. Results: Between May-September 2018, 172 out of 482 screened participants (35.7%) were PET-PCR positive. Relative to PET-PCR, expert-microscopy was least sensitive (40.1%, 95% CI 32.7-47.9), followed by cRDT (49.4%, 41.7-57.1), usRDT (54.7%, 46.9-62.2), and LAMP (68.6%, 61.1-75.5). Test sensitivities were comparable in febrile women (N=90). Among afebrile women (N=392), the geometric- mean parasite density was 29 parasites/μL and LAMP (sensitivity=61.9%) and usRDT (43.2%) detected 1.74 (1.31-2.30) and 1.21 (0.88-2.21) more infections than cRDT (35.6%). Per our model, tests performed similarly at densities >200 parasites/μL. At 50 parasites/μL, the sensitivities were 45%, 56%, 62% and 74% with expert-microscopy, cRDT, usRDT, and LAMP, respectively. Conclusions: This first-generation usRDT provided moderate improvement in detecting low-density infections in afebrile pregnant women compared to cRDTs

Intrathecal administration of clonidine or yohimbine decreases the nociceptive behavior caused by formalin injection in the marsh terrapin (<i>Pelomedusa subrufa</i>)

BACKGROUND: The role of noradrenergic system in the control of nociception is documented in some vertebrate animals. However, there are no data showing the role of this system on nociception in the marsh terrapins. METHODOLOGY: In this study, the antinociceptive action of intrathecal administration of the α(2)-adrenoreceptor agonist clonidine and α(2)-adrenoreceptor antagonist yohimbine was evaluated in the African marsh terrapin using the formalin test. The interaction of clonidine and yohimbine was also evaluated. RESULTS: Intrathecal administration of clonidine (37.5 or 65 μg/kg) caused a significant reduction in the mean time spent in pain-related behavior. Yohimbine, at a dose of 25 μg/kg, significantly blocked the effect of clonidine (65 μg/kg). However, administration of yohimbine (40 or 53 μg/kg) caused a significant reduction in the mean time spent in pain-related behavior. Intrathecal administration of yohimbine (53 μg/kg) followed immediately by intrathecal injection of the serotonergic methysergide maleate (20 μg/kg) resulted in a significant reversal of the antinociceptive effect of yohimbine. CONCLUSION: The present study documented the intrathecal administration of drugs in the marsh terrapin, a technique that can be applied in future studies on these animals. The data also suggest the involvement of both α(2)-adrenoreceptors and 5HT receptors in the modulation of nociception in testudines