University of Embu

Uncertain rainfall onset complicates maize establishment in eastern Kenya, where both grain and stover contribute to farm livelihoods. We evaluated pre-rain dry-soil sowing, rainfall-triggered wet sowing and delayed sowing over five seasons at water-limited Machang'a and wetter Kiamaogo. Sowing treatment was assigned to split-plot main plots and locally predominant maize varieties to subplots, with three replications and repeated observation of the same physical plots. Site-specific mixed models quantified grain yield, stover yield, harvest index, establishment, productive-cob formation and grain-yield failure, while sowing-specific rainfall exposure was reconstructed for all ten site-season environments. At Machang'a, dry sowing increased grain yield by 51-86% relative to wet or delayed sowing in the 2009 short rains and 2010 long rains. In three other seasons, 94.4-100% of plots failed to produce grain despite established plants and measurable stover, showing that vegetative biomass could persist under conditions that prevented grain production. At Kiamaogo, sowing responses varied among variety-season combinations. Delayed sowing increased stover by 1.96-3.69 Mg ha-1 in six of 15 combinations and reduced harvest index by 0.086-0.125 in four of 15 combinations, indicating shifts in biomass allocation rather than a consistent grain-yield advantage. Across sites, treatment responses reflected strong interactions among environment, season and variety. The study shows that sowing-time strategies can substantially alter both grain production and residue supply in rainfed maize systems and provide a field basis for developing climate-informed sowing strategies under variable rainfall.

This study formulates a deterministic model to assess the effect of a family-based control and management (FBCM) strategy against the transmission of Helicobacter pylori infection and its consequent development of gastric ulcers and gastric cancer. The model includes nine epidemiological compartments to model disease transmission and contact epidemiology between susceptible and infected individuals. In the model analysis, we compute positivity, the invariant region, equilibria, stabilities, and bifurcation analysis. We calculate the control reproduction number R-0 and demonstrate that the model has a unique disease-free equilibrium (DFE) and an endemic equilibrium point (EEP) that are locally and globally stable for R-0<1 and R-0>1, respectively. We perform a thorough mathematical analysis and validate the model by fitting it to real data on gastric cancer cases recorded at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya. The best numerical results are achieved when we combine both preventive measures (sensitization and a family-based approach) and curative measures (prompt treatment and adherence), resulting in the greatest decrease in gastric ulcer and gastric cancer cases compared with a single intervention. This study shows that integrated household-level interventions can reduce transmission and prevent mild-to-severe disease progression through effective sensitization campaigns, high FBCM efficacy, effective gastric ulcer treatment, and adherence to drug protocols. The use of such strategies offers an effective means of reducing Helicobacter pylori-related gastric ulcers and gastric cancer outcomes, with important implications for public health control program design.

Globally, cancer is a high health burden, as it's the fifth leading cause of death, in the year 2022, a study by the WHO showed there were an estimated 20 million new cases, and the number of deaths totaled 9.7 million. In a group of 5 people, 1 person develops cancer in their lifetime, approximately 1:12 women and 1:9 men die from cancer. The management of cancer patients is complicated by the presence of comorbidities, which can significantly affect transition between time of diagnosis and treatment initiation. The data used in the study was sourced from Cancer regional registry. It entailed the following details of the patients: age, gender, cancer staging, pre-existing and post-existing health condition(s), and cancer subtype. Patients were grouped according to the stage in which they were diagnosed. Stage I and II are the early stages, while Stage III and IV are the late stages. The most prevalent cancer type in males is prostate cancer, while in females it is breast cancer, with hypertension as the commonest comorbid condition. Most of the cancer diagnoses were in late stage, that's stage III and stage IV. This distribution showed that a significant proportion of patients were diagnosed at advanced stages (III and IV), which could affect treatment options and prognosis. Cardiovascular conditions were associated with cancer progression, treatment method, and overall survival. Patients diagnosed at later stages (III-IV) received systemic therapies as their treatment type. There is need to continue the study in the future by prospective researchers in terms of size and variability of the participants investigated at several centers in order to enhance inclusivity. This would be efficient by the use of longitudinal designs so that it monitors disease progression, its response and also model survival rates too.

On the second of October 2023, the United Nations Security Council approved a Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti to help restore law and order following years of gang-related chaos. Drawing on legitimacy theory and employing a comparative analysis of most different systems design (MDSD), while holding systemic differences between Kenya and Haiti constant, the study sought to assess whether the populations' views on the mission's empirical legitimacy in both countries are significantly similar or different. Data were collected using a semi-structured online questionnaire administered to 324 respondents from both countries. The findings reveal no significant differences in perceptions between Kenyans and Haitians. This indicates that the mission faces considerable legitimacy challenges, stemming from limited public support, insufficient consultation, and scepticism about its necessity. These findings reinforce legitimacy theory, demonstrating that successful international interventions require both legal sanction and social endorsement by affected populations.

Context: To avoid soil fertility decline and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it has been recommended to improve maize yields in sub-Saharan Africa with sustainable practices such as Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), instead of relying solely on mineral fertilizer. However, the yield responses and environmental trade-offs of ISFM likely depend on soil and climatic conditions. Objective: To explore this, we used the DayCent model to simulate 30-year average yields of maize monoculture across Kenya under 17 different ISFM scenarios, co-created with Kenyan smallholder farmers. We compared yields, changes in SOC stocks and N2O emissions against current baseline conditions (monocropping with minimal nutrient inputs). Methods: The scenario that best represented a 'feasible-input' level consisted of 2 t C ha-1 yr-1 of farmyard manure and 60 kg N ha-1 season-1 of mineral fertilizer. Other scenarios included different amounts (0, 1, and 2 t C ha-1 yr-1) and types of organic inputs in combination with four rates of mineral N fertilizer (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg N ha-1 season-1). The uncertainty of model predictions was quantified through Monte Carlo simulations. Results and Conclusions: The model results indicate a significant potential for yield improvements in the humid regions of western Kenya (from 3.7 to 8.1 t ha-1 yr-1) with the 'feasible-input' compared to the baseline scenario; GHG emissions per kg of yield were generally lower (the median value reduced from 0.9 to 0.5 kg CO2-eq kg-1 yield). However, in the semi-arid regions of eastern Kenya, maximum yields under any scenario were 1.1 t ha-1 yr-1, reached at inputs of 1 t C farmyard manure ha-1 yr-1 or 60 kg mineral N ha-1 season-1. The uncertainty analysis showed a high confidence in the 'feasible-input' scenario's ability to increase yields and reduce SOC losses compared to the baseline, but a high uncertainty regarding its impact on GHG emissions. Specifically, the 95% credibility intervals for the combined CO2 and N2O emissions ranged from reductions of up to 1000 kg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1 to increases of up to 200 kg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1. Significance: These results strongly support the use of ISFM practices to enhance maize yields and mitigate soil fertility losses, particularly in areas with sufficient rainfall. However, due to the high uncertainty surrounding simulated N2O emissions, we cannot establish with certainty whether ISFM reduces GHG emissions on a per hectare basis or increases them.