Modelling The Impact of Screening, Treatment and Underlying Health Conditions on Dynamics of Covid-19

This study formulated a SIRS classical mathematical model which is modified to incorporate the exposed and the treated individuals where COVID-19 is modelled. The model stratifies the population into two categories depending whether they have underlying health conditions or not, and describes disease transmission within or between the groups. Five compartments are considered in the model for each group that is; Susceptible individuals, exposed population, Infected individuals, treated population and the Recovered population. The objectives were to; Formulate a mathematical deterministic model based on classical SIRS model incorporating screening, treatment and underlying health conditions on covid-19 dynamics. Determine the Reproduction number and use it to analyze the model. Determining sensitivity analysis and Bifurcation. Simulating the model using data from the ministry of health. The Next generation matrix method was used to determine the basic reproduction number denoted  of the proposed model. The results of the simulation indicated that the Disease Free Equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable whenever  and globally asymptotically stable if  . On the other hand, Endemic Equilibrium was globally asymptotically stable if .The results obtained showed that increasing the rate of screening and treatment on the exposed population and weakening the disease transmission route between the susceptible, exposed and infected population are crucial to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus. The Government of Kenya should advocate treatment and screening of the exposed and infected individuals

Turbulent Natural Convection in an Enclosure at Varying Aspect Ratio

Energy transfer mechanism in most technical flows is through turbulent natural convection due to low viscosity of the fluids used in technical applications. Consequently, there is need to establish the parameters that influence the flow field of turbulent flow regime in order to enhance the energy-efficacy of many thermal applications. In order to establish the influence of the geometrical configuration of the flow domain on the flow field, we obtain and analyze the distribution of the velocity and temperature fields of a Boussinesq buoyancy-driven turbulent flow field in a locally heated and cooled enclosure for while maintaining the Rayleigh number of the flow at . To filter out the enormous turbulent scales inherent in the turbulent flow regime, we decompose the flow variables present in the instantaneous equations governing a viscous Boussinesq buoyant flow and subject the resulting equations to the Reynolds averaging process to obtain equations that governs the turbulent flow field. We resolve the turbulent quantities emanating from this process using the  turbulence model coupled with the Boussinesq approximation. To ensure the satisfaction of the conservation laws at the discrete level and over the entire solution domain, the non-dimensionalized equations are discretized using the robust finite volume method. The method possesses the ability to adapt a grid structure that captures the local features of the flow domain and imposes the integral form of the governing equations to each finite volume of the discretized solution domain so that the final mathematical formulation has an intimate connection to the actual physical situation. Since the equations are coupled, a segregated pressure-based iterative method is used to obtain the solution. The results revealed that the velocity and temperature fields are non-uniformly distributed in the enclosure and their magnitude and distribution significantly depend on the Aspect ratio of the enclosure. The results are consistent with the experimental results of Markatos and Pericleous (Markatos & Pericleous, 1984). Keywords: Aspect Ratio, Boussinesq, Buoyancy, Natural Convection, Reynolds Stresses, Turbulent heat flux

A Deterministic Model Of HIV Transmission Between Two Closed Patches Incorporating The Monod Equation

Among other factors, migration has significantly contributed to the spread of HIV. Recent studies have revealed that new infections occur along major transport corridors and truck-drivers have overall higher prevalence rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections than non-truck drivers’ counterparts. Therefore, there exist a link between population mobility and HIV infection, as populations along transport corridors remain substantial contributors of new infections. This research work documents a deterministic model of the dynamics of HIV transmission between two closed patches that incorporates the Monod equation in migration with truck drivers being the agents of HIV transmission. Migration is considered as a social determinant to health and have a significant impact on health‐related vulnerabilities and access to services. We assumed that susceptible individuals become infected via sexual intercourse with HIV infected truck drivers and all the infected individuals ultimately developed AIDS exponentially. The model also assumed that the patches have different infection and susceptibility rates. The patches basic reproduction number,  was determined using the Next Generation Matrix. The results revealed that  should be kept below unity to eradicate the transmission of the virus. The Disease-Free Equilibrium Point was obtained based on the signs of the Eigen values of the Jacobian matrix. In the absence, the Disease-Free Equilibrium Point is both Locally Asymptotically and Globally Asymptotically Stable. It was further proved that the model did not display Endemic Equilibrium Point under a special property for epidemic models. The model findings are vital in guiding health practitioners, governmental and non-governmental health agencies in the development of effective mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of HIV. KEY WORDS: HIV/AIDS, Migration, Monod function, Basic reproduction number, Stability Analysis, Equilibria Points. DOI: 10.7176/MTM/9-6-03 Publication date: June 30th 201

Plasma and cerebrospinal proteomes from childre with cerebral malaria differ from those of children with other encephalopathies

Journal article published in The Journal of Infectious DiseasesClinical signs and symptoms of cerebral malaria in children are nonspecific and are seen in other common encephalopathies in malaria-endemic areas. This makes accurate diagnosis difficult in resource-poor settings. Novel malaria-specific diagnostic and prognostic methods are needed. We have used 2 proteomic strategies to identify differentially expressed proteins in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from children with a diagnosis of cerebral malaria, compared with those with a diagnosis of malaria-slide-negative acute bacterial meningitis and other nonspecific encephalopathies. Here we report the presence of differentially expressed proteins in cerebral malaria in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid that could be used to better understand pathogenesis and help develop more-specific diagnostic methods. In particular, we report the expression of 2 spectrin proteins that have known Plasmodium falciparum–binding partners involved in the stability of the infected red blood cell, suppressing further invasion and possibly enhancing the red blood cell’s ability to sequester in microvasculature.Clinical signs and symptoms of cerebral malaria in children are nonspecific and are seen in other common encephalopathies in malaria-endemic areas. This makes accurate diagnosis difficult in resource-poor settings. Novel malaria-specific diagnostic and prognostic methods are needed. We have used 2 proteomic strategies to identify differentially expressed proteins in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from children with a diagnosis of cerebral malaria, compared with those with a diagnosis of malaria-slide-negative acute bacterial meningitis and other nonspecific encephalopathies. Here we report the presence of differentially expressed proteins in cerebral malaria in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid that could be used to better understand pathogenesis and help develop more-specific diagnostic methods. In particular, we report the expression of 2 spectrin proteins that have known Plasmodium falciparum–binding partners involved in the stability of the infected red blood cell, suppressing further invasion and possibly enhancing the red blood cell’s ability to sequester in microvasculature

Turbulent Natural Convection in an Enclosure at Varying Rayleigh Number

Most fluids used in technical applications are of low viscosity; hence, fluid flows encountered in engineering applications are mostly turbulent. Parameters that influence the distribution of the flow field of turbulent flow regimes thus significantly affect the performance of many thermal systems. In this study, we analyze the distribution of the flow field of a Boussinesq buoyancy-driven turbulent airflow fo

Discovery and validation of biomarkers to guide clinical management of pneumonia in African children.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children globally. Clinical algorithms remain suboptimal for distinguishing severe pneumonia from other causes of respiratory distress such as malaria or distinguishing bacterial pneumonia and pneumonia from others causes, such as viruses. Molecular tools could improve diagnosis and management. METHODS: We conducted a mass spectrometry-based proteomic study to identify and validate markers of severity in 390 Gambian children with pneumonia (n = 204) and age-, sex-, and neighborhood-matched controls (n = 186). Independent validation was conducted in 293 Kenyan children with respiratory distress (238 with pneumonia, 41 with Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and 14 with both). Predictive value was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: Lipocalin 2 (Lpc-2) was the best protein biomarker of severe pneumonia (AUC, 0.71 [95% confidence interval, .64-.79]) and highly predictive of bacteremia (78% [64%-92%]), pneumococcal bacteremia (84% [71%-98%]), and "probable bacterial etiology" (91% [84%-98%]). These results were validated in Kenyan children with severe malaria and respiratory distress who also met the World Health Organization definition of pneumonia. The combination of Lpc-2 and haptoglobin distinguished bacterial versus malaria origin of respiratory distress with high sensitivity and specificity in Gambian children (AUC, 99% [95% confidence interval, 99%-100%]) and Kenyan children (82% [74%-91%]). CONCLUSIONS: Lpc-2 and haptoglobin can help discriminate the etiology of clinically defined pneumonia and could be used to improve clinical management. These biomarkers should be further evaluated in prospective clinical studies

Kimasomaso : a weekly radio programme about sexual health

Contents: Transcript in English; audio in mp3 format and in Swahili languageKimasomaso is co-produced and broadcast by the BBC Swahili Service. The programme is recorded, mixed and edited in Nairobi weekly.Abortion is an issue that evokes passionate sentiments in East Africa, and particularly Kenya, where some politicians and members of the clergy have expressed reservations about a clause in the draft constitution that allegedly permits it. This edition of Kimasomaso delves deep into the issue of birth-related maternal deaths in Kenya, most of which are as a result of induced abortions. Psychological and physical effects of abortion are elaborated in detail. There is also a moving testimony of a girl whose circumstances forced her to procure an abortion

An Empirical Survey on the Effect of Business Alignment on the Organizational Performance of Microfinance Banks in Kenya

Abstract: Microfinance banks play a key role in complementing banks in the provision of financial services, especially to the population that is poor and lacks access to commercial banks. The performance of Microfinance banks has been on the decline in Kenya due to slow processing time, lack of new products, low number of customers and lack of staff retention. Microfinance banks offer financial services to a population that cannot get the same services from commercial banks due to the high costs. Microfinance banks in Kenya have been performing poorly in the last few years occasioned by the closure of some of the branches of the microfinance banks while some like Century microfinance banks have been acquired by other Fintech companies. These microfinance banks need to leverage and reconfigure all the resources they have to achieve and maintain sustainable competitiveness. This study sought to investigate the effect of business alignment on the performance of Microfinance banks in Kenya. This study adopted the positivist research philosophy and also adopted the cross-sectional descriptive and explanatory research design. The study employed stratified proportionate sampling and simple random sampling from the 14 registered Microfinance banks regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics using means and standard deviations while inferential statistics were done through multiple linear regression and analysis of variance while observing the significance levels of p value<0.05. Diagnostic tests on multicollinearity, normality and heteroscedasticity were carried out. Tables and narratives were used to present the results. The study found that business alignment significantly positively affected the performance of microfinance banks. The findings of this study add to the knowledge by developing a conceptual framework based on the strategic alignment model and also revealing the specific alignments that are key to improving the performance of microfinance banks in Kenya. Management of microfinance banks should work with their regulators to change their business model of loan awarding, and leverage technology to offer appraisal and disbursement of quick loans on the mobile. Keywords: Microfinance banks, commercial banks, financial services. Title: An Empirical Survey on the Effect of Business Alignment on the Organizational Performance of Microfinance Banks in Kenya Author: Stephen Karanja, Eunice N. Wandiga, Julius Kahuthia International Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management (IJRRCEM) ISSN 2349-7807 Vol. 10, Issue 3, July 2023 - September 2023 Page No: 178-186 Paper Publications Website: www.paperpublications.org Published Date: 16-September-2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8351246 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.paperpublications.org/upload/book/An%20Empirical%20Survey%20on%20the%20Effect%20of%20Business-16092023-3.pdfInternational Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management (IJRRCEM), ISSN 2349-7807, Paper Publications, Website: www.paperpublications.or