Effects of lianas on forest biogeochemistry during their lives and afterlives.

Climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances are increasing liana abundance and biomass in many tropical and subtropical forests. While the effects of living lianas on species diversity, ecosystem carbon, and nutrient dynamics are receiving increasing attention, the role of dead lianas in forest ecosystems has been little studied and is poorly understood. Trees and lianas coexist as the major woody components of forests worldwide, but they have very different ecological strategies, with lianas relying on trees for mechanical support.

Effects of Ugali Maize Flour Fortification with Chia Seeds ( L.) on Its Physico-Chemical Properties and Consumer Acceptability.

The study investigated the effect of incorporating whole chia seeds (WCS) and defatted chia seed flour (DCF) into whole maize meal for ugali preparation. Both were incorporated at substitution levels of 3%, 6%, and 9% separately, and the resulting treatments subjected to laboratory analysis. In addition, ugali samples were prepared from all the resulting flour formulations and subjected to consumer acceptability assessment.

Fauna access outweighs litter mixture effect during leaf litter decomposition.

Decomposition rates of litter mixtures reflect the combined effects of litter species diversity, litter quality, decomposers, their interactions with each other and with the environment. The outcomes of those interactions remain ambiguous and past studies have reported conflicting results (e.g.

Detection of Antibodies to spp. in Dromedary Camels and Co-Grazing Sheep in Northern Kenya Using an Polyclonal Competitive ELISA.

A disease with clinical and post-mortem presentation similar to those seen in heartwater, a tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by the intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium, was first reported in dromedary camels in Kenya in 2016; investigations carried out at the time to determine the cause were inconclusive. In the present study, we screened sera from Kenyan camels collected before (2015) and after (2020) the 2016 disease outbreak for antibodies to Ehrlichia spp. using an E.

Responses of Soil Microbial Metabolic Activity and Community Structure to Different Degraded and Restored Grassland Gradients of the Tibetan Plateau.

Climate change and land-use disturbances are supposed to have severely affected the degraded alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. Artificial grassland establishment has been implemented as a restoration tool against grassland degradation. However, the impact of such degradation and restoration processes on soil microbial communities and soil quality is not clearly understood.

Patterns of sexual violence against adults and children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya: a prospective cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study examined patterns of sexual violence against adults and children in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform sexual violence prevention, protection, and response efforts.

Design: A prospective cross-sectional research design was used with data collected from March to August 2020.

Setting: Kenya.

Brief Report: Recent HIV Infection Surveillance in Routine HIV Testing in Nairobi, Kenya: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Serological tests can distinguish recent (in the prior 12 months) from long-term HIV infection. Integrating recency testing into routine HIV testing services (HTS) can provide important information on transmission clusters and prioritize clients for partner testing. This study assessed the feasibility and use of integrating HIV recency into routine testing.

Understanding the Relations Among the Storage, Soaking, and Cooking Behavior of Pulses: A Scientific Basis for Innovations in Sustainable Foods for the Future.

The world faces challenges that require sustainable solutions: food and nutrition insecurity; replacement of animal-based protein sources; and increasing demand for convenient, nutritious, and health-beneficial foods; as well as functional ingredients. The irrefutable potential of pulses as future sustainable food systems is undermined by the hardening phenomenon that develops upon their storage under adverse conditions of temperature and relative humidity. Occurrence of this phenomenon indicates storage instability.

Comparison of dynamic water distribution and microstructure formation of shiitake mushrooms during hot air and far infrared radiation drying by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and scanning electron microscopy.

Background: An abundance of shiitake mushrooms is consumed in dried form around the world. In the present study, changes in water state, water distribution and microstructure of shiitake mushrooms during hot-air drying (HAD) and far-infrared radiation drying (FIRD) processes were investigated using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and scanning electron microscopy. Quality attributes of the dried products were compared in terms of drying property, appearance, rehydration behavior, texture and storage stability.

Strengthening health systems in Africa: a case study of the Kenya field epidemiology training program for local frontline health workers.

The logistical and operational challenges to improve public health practice capacity across Africa are well documented. This report describes Kenya's Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program's (KFELTP) experience in implementing frontline public health worker training to transfer knowledge and practical skills that help strengthen their abilities to detect, document, respond to, and report unusual health events. Between May 2014 and May 2015, KFELTP hosted five training courses across the country to address practice gaps among local public health workers.

Detailed analysis of seed coat and cotyledon reveals molecular understanding of the hard-to-cook defect of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.).

The hard-to-cook (HTC) defect in legumes is characterized by the inability of cotyledons to soften during the cooking process. Changes in the non-starch polysaccharides of common bean seed coat and cotyledon were studied before and after development of the HTC defect induced by storage at 35°C and 75% humidity for 8months. Distinct differences in the yields of alcohol insoluble residues, degree of methoxylation (DM), sugar composition, and molar mass distribution of non-starch polysaccharides were found between the seeds coat and cotyledons.

Hydration properties and texture fingerprints of easy- and hard-to-cook bean varieties.

The objective of this study was to understand the factors that affect the hydration and cooking profiles of different bean varieties. During this study, nine bean varieties were classified as either easy-to-cook (ETC) or hard-to-cook (HTC) based on a subjective finger pressing test and an objective cutting test. Rose coco, Red haricot, and Zebra beans were classified as ETC, while Canadian wonder, Soya fupi, Pinto, non-nodulating, Mwezi moja, Gwaku, and New mwezi moja were HTC.

Extraction and characterization of pectic polysaccharides from easy- and hard-to-cook common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).

The occurrence of the hard-to-cook (HTC) defect in legumes is characterized by the inability of cotyledons to soften during the cooking process. This phenomenon may be influenced by pectin properties. The objective of this study was to characterize the pectic polysaccharides comprised in the alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) extracted from easy-to-cook (Rose coco) and hard-to-cook (Pinto) common beans.

Interaction between nifedipine and digoxin in rats.

Possible nifedipine-digoxin interaction was investigated in rats by comparing lethal doses of intravenously infused digoxin in control and experimental rats. In the experimental rats, nifedipine was administered intraperitoneally, 30 minutes prior to infusing digoxin at a constant rate of 40mcg per minute. Results indicate that nifedipine administered within the dosage range 0.

A centrally induced vasodepressor response after intravenous administration of whole venom of Naja mossambica pallida in cats.

Naja mossambica pallida venom administered i.v. (200 microgram/kg) produces an initial brief fall in blood pressure, due to a direct myocardial depressant effect, and a sustained fall due to central depressant effect.

Preliminary study of the intense sympathetic discharge induced centrally after lateral ventricular administration of whole venom of Dendroaspis polylepis.

Lateral ventricular administration of 100 microgram of Dendroaspis polylepis venom is cats consistently produced a marked rise in arterial blood pressure, heart rate dilatation of pupils and piloerection. This intense central sympathetic discharge occurred after a latent period of 11.7 +/- 0.