Faculty of Science & Technology (FST): Recent submissions
Now showing items 361-380 of 4283
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Safety, immunogenicity, and cross-species protection of a plasmid DNA encoding Plasmodium falciparum SERA5 polypeptide, microbial epitopes and chemokine genes in mice and olive baboons.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)Incorporation of biomolecular epitopes to malarial antigens should be explored in the development of strain-transcending malarial vaccines. The present study sought to determine safety, immunogenicity and cross-species ... -
Evaluating the utility of mid-infrared spectral subspaces for predicting soil properties.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)We propose four methods for finding local subspaces in large spectral libraries. The proposed four methods include (a) cosine angle spectral matching; (b) hit quality index spectral matching; (c) self-organizing maps and ... -
Dynamics of the developing chick Chorioallantoic membrane assessed by Stereology, allometry, Immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a widely used model for the study of angiogenesis, tumour growth, as well as drug efficacy. In spite of this, little is known about the developmental alteration from its appearance ... -
Draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Phytoplasma Oryzae" strain mbita1, the causative agent of Napier grass stunt disease in Kenya.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)Phytoplasmas are bacterial plant pathogens with devastating impact on agricultural production worldwide. In eastern Africa, Napier grass stunt disease causes serious economic losses in the smallholder dairy industry. This ... -
Visualization of house-entry behaviour of malaria mosquitoes
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: Malaria mosquitoes often blood feed indoors on human hosts. The mosquitoes predominantly enter houses via open eaves. Host-seeking is odour-driven, and finding a host depends on the quality of the odour plume ... -
Frequency of Epstein - Barr virus in patients presenting with acute febrile illness in Kenya.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: Most acute febrile illnesses (AFI) are usually not associated with a specific diagnosis because of limitations of available diagnostics. This study reports on the frequency of EBV viremia and viral load in ... -
Field evaluation of two novel sampling devices for collecting wild oviposition site seeking malaria vector mosquitoes: OviART gravid traps and squares of electrocuting nets.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: New sampling tools are needed for collecting exophilic malaria mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa to monitor the impact of vector control interventions. The OviART gravid trap and squares of electrocuting nets ... -
Profile: the Rusinga health and demographic surveillance system, western Kenya.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)The health and demographic surveillance system on Rusinga Island, Western Kenya, was initiated in 2012 to facilitate a malaria intervention trial: the SolarMal project. The project aims to eliminate malaria from Rusinga ... -
The epidemiology of residual Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission and infection burden in an African city with high coverage of multiple vector control measures.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: In the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam, high coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), larvicide application (LA) and mosquito-proofed housing, was complemented with improved access to artemisinin-based ... -
Enhancing attraction of African malaria vectors to a synthetic Odor blend.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)The deployment of odor-baited tools for sampling and controlling malaria vectors is limited by a lack of potent synthetic mosquito attractants. A synthetic mixture of chemical compounds referred to as "the Mbita blend" ... -
Isolation of a new β-carboline alkaloid from aerial parts of Triclisia sacleuxii and its antibacterial and cytotoxicity effects.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)A new β-carboline alkaloid named sacleuximine A (1) together with known compounds palmatine (2), isotetrandrine (3), trans-N-feruloyltyramine (4), trans-N-caffeoyltyramine (5), yangambin (6), syringaresinol (7), sesamin ... -
Induction of humoral immune response to multiple recombinant Rhipicephalus appendiculatus antigens and their effect on tick feeding success and pathogen transmission.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus is the primary vector of Theileria parva, the etiological agent of East Coast fever (ECF), a devastating disease of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. We hypothesized that a vaccine ... -
Influence of cattle on browsing and grazing wildlife varies with rainfall and presence of megaherbivores.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)In many savanna ecosystems worldwide, livestock share the landscape and its resources with wildlife. The nature of interactions between livestock and wildlife is a subject of considerable interest and speculation, yet ... -
Antifungal activity of essential oil of eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. Against selected fusarium spp.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)The objective of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of essential oil (EO) of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. against five Fusarium spp. commonly associated with maize. The essential oil had been extracted ... -
The socio-economic drivers of bushmeat consumption during the West African Ebola crisis.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)Bushmeat represents an important source of animal protein for humans in tropical Africa. Unsustainable bushmeat hunting is a major threat to wildlife and its consumption is associated with an increased risk of acquiring ... -
Temperature-dependent phenology of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Simulation and visualization of current and future distributions along the Eastern Afromontane.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)There is a scarcity of laboratory and field-based results showing the movement of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) across a spatial scale. We studied the population growth of the diamondback moth (DBM) ... -
Ecological niche modelling of Rift Valley fever virus vectors in Baringo, Kenya.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)BACKGROUND: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease that has an impact on human health and animal productivity. Here, we explore the use of vector presence modelling to predict the distribution of RVF ... -
Mass mosquito trapping for malaria control in western Kenya: study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster-randomised trial.
(University of Nairobi, 2016)BACKGROUND: Increasing levels of insecticide resistance as well as outdoor, residual transmission of malaria threaten the efficacy of existing vector control tools used against malaria mosquitoes. The development of ... -
Antimalarial pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles: lead optimization, parasite life cycle stage profile, mechanistic evaluation, killing kinetics, and in vivo oral efficacy in a mouse model.
(University of Nairobi, 2017)Further structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies on the recently identified pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole (PBI) antimalarials have led to the identification of potent, metabolically stable compounds with improved in vivo ... -
A DNA-barcode for Melia volkensii Gürke (Meliaceae) and its phylogenetic relationship with some economically important relatives
(University of Nairobi, 2016)The study reports the first DNA-barcode and molecular phylogeny of the East African endemic tree species Melia volkensii using the standard two-locus plant barcoding genes (rbcL and matK). The two genes were amplified and ...