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This study applied the mixed approach on primary data. It is comprative study of democratic system in Kenya and Ethiopia. The developed theoretical framework prism of the two third world African Countries. The study explored the modules of the democracy in these neighboring east African states. Both nations have same colonial legacies and political mindset. It investigated causes behind post elections conflicts in these African nations and its effects. This paper explores the Democratization in Kenya and Ethiopia as third world countries, and provides a better understanding of the practical implementation of democratic principles in both Countries. The continuing wave of, as well as civil agitation carries spillover effects. It carried SWAT analysisThis paper advocates several recommendations Focus on Transparency Increase transparency and accountability in resource allocation to reduce insecurity and rebuild public trust. Both Kenya and Ethiopia need to strengthen their democratic institutions such as the judiciary and the electoral commission. Economic development is important, but it should not come at the expense of democracy. Regional Cooperation Encourage collaboration between Kenya and Ethiopia, along with other African nations, to share best practices in democratic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic waste has recently become a major global environmental concern and one of the biggest challenges has been seeking for alternative management options. Several studies have revealed the potential of several coleopteran species to degrade plastics, and this is the first research paper on plastic-degradation potential by lesser mealworms from Africa. This study evaluated the whole mitogenomic profile of the lesser mealworm to further identify the insect. The ability of the mealworm to consume Polystyrene (PS) was also evaluated alongside its associated gut microbiota diversity. Our results showed a complete circular mitochondrial genome which clustered closely to the Alphitobius genus but also suggested that our insect might be a new subspecies which require further identification. During the PS feeding trials, overall survival rates of the larvae decreased when fed a sole PS diet while PS intake was observed to increase over a 30-day period. The predominant bacteria observed in larvae fed PS diets were Kluyvera, Lactococcus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus, while Stenotrophomonas dominated the control diet. These findings demonstrated that the newly identified lesser mealworm can survive on a PS diet and has a consortium of important bacteria strongly associated with PS degradation. This work provides a better understanding of bioremediation applications, paving the way for further research into the metabolic pathways of plastic-degrading microbes and bringing hope to solving plastic waste pollution while providing high-value insect protein towards a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinship care and child fostering are a common practice in certain parts of Africa. This narrative review seeks to explore and thematically code the contextual circumstances in which children leave their natal homes and are fostered across Africa and the corresponding outcomes for these children. It draws on case studies from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Namibia and other countries across the region to illustrate the diversity and cultural importance of kinship care and child fostering. These countries were selected based on their inclusion in the Thrive by Five International Program, a child rearing program promoting social, emotional, and cognitive development of children from birth to age five. The importance of kinship care and child fostering is also reinforced by outcomes from codesign workshops conducted for the Thrive by Five International Program in which parents, caregivers, and subject matter experts discussed their perspectives on child rearing practices and the challenges faced by caregivers in their home countries. The paper highlights the need to support kinship and foster caregivers in Africa with culturally adapted and place‐based child rearing programs to help ensure fostered children reach their full developmental potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale cross-border trade is ubiquitous in Africa. This paper uses disaggregated trade data to assess the determinants of the product portfolio of different groups of small-scale traders at the border between Uganda and Kenya. Using a weighted fractional response model, it finds that wheelchair-bound traders have a significantly higher propensity to handle products that are subject to high protection than other traders. This result suggests that border officials discriminate in favor of traders with disability in the enforcement of trade policies or the solicitation of bribes. More generally, the findings question the effective implementation of preferential trade agreements in Africa and call for trade policy reforms to be complemented by targeted measures to reduce the hardship faced by vulnerable groups within the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, African Renaissance is discussed from the perspective of new interests in African agriculture. Opportunities in Africa in agribusiness are growing. But accompanying this growth is a model of agriculture based on application of high technical inputs, under the narrative of agricultural intensification. However, there is evidence to suggest that new interests and practices toward harnessing Africa's potential for agricultural development for the African Renaissance are not sustainable due to constraints and disadvantages to small-holder farmers. This paper draws from empirical qualitative research on sugarcane farming in the Chemelil area in western Kenya to demonstrate that the high technical input model of agricultural intensification stifles farmers' political power and will to control their lands and thus to innovate to benefit from their lands. The paper calls for a socially oriented model of agriculture toward contributing to the African Renaissance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how African organisations and countries construct their geographical indication (GI) systems. It makes three primary arguments. First, that the nascent GI agenda in Africa is driven by the European Union (EU) to principally promote European interests. Nonetheless, African countries can benefit from GI regimes by crafting laws that promote African interests. Second, that simply embracing the introduction of GI laws will not result in the EU's promised socioeconomic development in Africa. This is because multifarious factors including infrastructure, investment, branding, marketing and security are required to realise successful GI regimes. Third, that African countries must leverage contextually customised GI regimes to maximise the potentials they present. Contextually customised GI regimes can engender socioeconomic development. Beyond the EU's agenda‐setting technologies, international affiliations and treaty boundaries shape GI laws in Africa, which inform the marked variation in its GI systems. This variation reflects the dissonance in international treaties for GIs. While African countries align with demandeurs that espouse stronger GIs laws at the international level, the only regional instrument on GIs in Africa is its Continental Strategy for GIs. In examining examples from the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, this timely paper maintains that although GIs present promises of socioeconomic development, policymakers, lawmakers and relevant African stakeholders must caution against their often‐overlooked pitfalls. As ultimately, it is the responsibility of Africans, not foreigners, to guarantee the generation of thriving GI ecosystems for African products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was feared that the digital divide would deny citizens in developing countries opportunities for increased participation in politics through internet-enabled communication technologies. However, the divide has been bridged by citizens through the appropriation of Western technologies like internet access through mobile phones and cyber cafes. In fact, the difference between North and South in the use of the internet to participate in politics is quickly becoming unnoticeable, especially regarding the use of social media. This paper describes the unforeseen impact of the rapid adoption of social media in Africa, a continent that has been lethargic to other Western technological advances. The paper uses Anderson's (1991/1983) theory of imagined community and Billig's (1995) banal nationalism thesis to describe the role of social media groups in building banal nationalism, a process that unobtrusively legitimises the otherwise artificial nation-state. Through analysis of the activities of social media groups, the paper describes how, besides enabling the formation of social groups, social media has created a new sense of consciousness and deep attachment to the concept of a nation-state in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung health in Africa is of great public health concern. To exchange knowledge, communicate the latest scientific advances in lung health, build the capacity of young researchers, and provide a platform for networking of lung health stakeholders in Africa, the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), in partnership with the Respiratory Society of Kenya organized and held the 3rd Biennial PATS congress, from June 7–10, 2023 in Mombasa, Kenya. There were a total of 30 conference sessions, which included six skills building workshops, two research dissemination workshops, six plenary sessions, and five each of pediatric, adult, and thoracic surgery symposia. A total of 60 abstracts were presented, including 27 oral abstracts and 33 posters. A wide range of issues for lung health in Africa emerged. These include the emerging role of the environment, especially climate change and global warming, on lung health, the threat posed by the use of tobacco and other nicotine products in Africa, the high burden of lung infections, insecurity of medical oxygen supply systems, and high burden of chronic respiratory disease. In this paper, we summarize the proceedings of this conference and draw lessons that can be used to advance lung health in the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agro-biotechnology deployment has been very slow in Africa, yet it has potential for enhancing sustainable development and industrialization. This paper attempts to understand the underlying factors that characterize the new technologies' deployment process. It takes buildup of innovation capabilities as the point of interrogation considering that very few products have received regulatory approval for large-scale commercialization in Africa. It uses Kenya's agro-biotech innovation system as a case study. The study finds that creating and accumulating innovation capabilities is much broader than research and development (R & D) capability and entails institutional capabilities that are needed to enhance biotech innovation that may lead to a sustainable industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African countries seek to intensify their industrialization while also increasingly pursuing green growth and, more recently, circular economy strategies. The competitive implications of this are, however, little researched empirically. We seek to investigate how African countries, examplified in this paper by Kenya, are experiencing a green and circular structural change of their economies. On the basis of early findings from a survey among 27 mixed manufacturing companies in Ruaraka industrial area in Nairobi, we highlight green and circular innovation trends, conditions and dynamics for different types of industries and firms (size). We apply a strong business perspective in framing the questions. We conclude that the companies are reaching a moderate stage of greening,although with a high degree of variability. Circular innovations are relatively widespread and ensuring resource supply seems to be a more important incentive than cutting costs. There seems overall to be quite strong business incentives to go circular among Kenyan companies, although these incentives are not necessarily realized by the companies, a factor that could be utilized in policymaking. We suggest a strong business-oriented survey methodology as a way forward to expand insights into the greening of industries in Africa and similar economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coffee berry disease (CBD) is a fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum kahawae. CBD is a major constraint to coffee production to Kenya and Africa at large. In this research paper, we formulate a mathematical model of the dynamics of the coffee berry disease. The model consists of coffee plant population in a plantation and Colletotrichum kahawae pathogen population. We derived the basic reproduction number R k 0 , and analyzed the dynamical behaviors of both disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium by the theory of ordinary differential equations. Using the MATLAB ode45 solver, we carried out numerical simulation, and the findings are consistent with the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discreetness of street-level corruption resides in somewhat coded languages, techniques, networks and trust (solidarity) by key players. The newcomers become indoctrinated as the oldtimers, found at different levels of the police hierarchy, acting as the gatekeepers. Therefore, bribery occurs within a syndicate requiring privileged knowledge, coping strategies, and a network that would descriptively qualify as the art of bribery. Dissidence comes with a greater cost. This paper shows how Kenyan police corruption and behaviour at checkpoints occurs within a syndicate underpinned by policing culture and loosely regulated institutional environments. Traffic policing features a well-established and expansive network of institutionalised corruption regulated by the rules-of-the game where each party play their parts. Motorists pay bribes to circumvent traffic regulations or be on the right terms with corrupt officers while the police maximise illicit incomes for personal and institutional gains. The unstructured public transport and overlapping regulations exacerbate corruption at the roadblocks, creating a corruption complex and spiral effects between the police and motorists. This discussion also indicates the incompetence of police personnel and citizen agency deficits in anti-corruption reforms in Africa. Most importantly, the paper shows that tighter traffic regulations unexpectedly produces and legitimises corruption in weaker regulatory systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) are hematophagous ectoparasites of bats characterized by viviparous pupiparity and generally high host specificity. Nycteribiid bat flies are wingless, morphologically constrained, and are most diverse in the Eastern Hemisphere. Africa hosts approximately 22% of global bat biodiversity and nearly one-third of all African bat species occur in Kenya, one of Africa's most bat-rich countries. However, records of nycteribiid bat fly diversity in Kenya remain sparse and unconsolidated. This paper combines all past species records of nycteribiid bat flies with records from a survey of 4,255 Kenyan bats across 157 localities between 2006 and 2015. A total of seven nycteribiid genera and 17 species are recorded, with seven species from the recent 'Bats of Kenya' surveys representing previously undocumented country records. Host associations and geographic distributions based on all available records are also described. This comprehensive species catalog addresses and further emphasizes the need for similar investigations of nycteribiid biodiversity across Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol use disorder is prevalent globally and in Kenya, and is associated with significant health and socio-economic consequences. Despite this, available pharmacological treatment options are limited. Recent evidence indicates that intravenous (IV) ketamine can be beneficial for the treatment of alcohol use disorder, but is yet to be approved for this indication. Further, little has been done to describe the use of IV ketamine for alcohol use disorder in Africa. The goal of this paper, is to: 1) describe the steps we took to obtain approval and prepare for off-label use of IV ketamine for patients with alcohol use disorder at the second largest hospital in Kenya, and 2) describe the presentation and outcomes of the first patient who received IV ketamine for severe alcohol use disorder at the hospital. Case presentation: In preparing for the off-label use of ketamine for alcohol use disorder, we brought together a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians including psychiatrists, pharmacists, ethicists, anesthetists, and members of the drug and therapeutics committee, to spearhead the process. The team developed a protocol for administering IV ketamine for alcohol use disorder that took into account ethical and safety issues. The national drug regulatory authority, the Pharmacy and Poison's Board, reviewed and approved the protocol. Our first patient was a 39-year-old African male with severe alcohol use disorder and comorbid tobacco use disorder and bipolar disorder. The patient had attended in-patient treatment for alcohol use disorder six times and each time had relapsed between one to four months after discharge. On two occasions, the patient had relapsed while on optimal doses of oral and implant naltrexone. The patient received IV ketamine infusion at a dose of 0.71 mg/kg. The patient relapsed within one week of receiving IV ketamine while on naltrexone, mood stabilizers, and nicotine replacement therapy. Discussion & conclusions: This case report describes for the first time the use of IV ketamine for alcohol use disorder in Africa. Findings will be useful in informing future research and in guiding other clinicians interested in administering IV ketamine for patients with alcohol use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violent conflicts, particularly at election times in Africa, are a common cause of instability and economic disruption. This paper studies how firms react to electoral violence using the case of Kenyan flower exporters during the 2008 postelection violence as an example. The violence induced a large negative supply shock that reduced exports primarily through workers' absence and had heterogeneous effects: larger firms and those with direct contractual relationships in export markets suffered smaller production and loss of workers. On the demand side, global buyers were not able to shift sourcing to Kenyan exporters located in areas not directly affected by the violence or to neighboring Ethiopian suppliers. Consistent with difficulties in ensuring against supply-chain risk disruptions caused by electoral violence, firms in direct contractual relationships ramp up shipments just before the subsequent 2013 presidential election to mitigate risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding bureaucratic corruption and maladministration in Africa has often hinged on political dimensions of the state and governance foci. This study crafts and applies the administrative rituals approach or a bureaucratic analysis to explore practical institutional and normative synergies of corruption and maladministration in Kenya. The discussion attempts to draw theoretical generalisations to address broader interests in bureaucratic theory and public accountability, drawing on empirical illustrations of how corruption and maladministration in Kenyan public administration fit within these explanations. The paper shows that despite their knowledge of anti-corruption laws, Kenyan public servants' actions and behaviours are ritualistically ordained to follow particular patterns over others, some of which reduce public accountability strategies to mere administrative symbols/rituals in public administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the construction of imperial landscapes in the borderlands of eastern Africa in the early twentieth century. Recent literature has emphasized the haphazard, contingent, and often hybrid nature of mapping imperial frontiers and colonial governance in eastern Africa. This paper looks at the role of photography in the mapping of the Kenya-Somali frontier through the rich photographic archive of colonial official, Sir Geoffrey Archer. Archer documented his cartographic surveys through multiple media – diaries, maps, photographs – that provide a unique lens through which to explore the role of visual culture in contestations over territoriality, mobility, and sovereignty. While this photographic archive visualized imperial frontier landscapes and documented the work of cartographic surveys, it also revealed the dependency on local intermediaries, through their labour, geographic knowledge, and spatial practices. Photography-as-cartography demonstrated both the productive work of photography and the ambivalent presence of colonized peoples in the mapping of imperial frontiers, revealing the social lives of the borderlands and capturing fugitive meanings, bodies, and landscapes. • Role of photography in imperial cartography and conquest of eastern Africa. • Visualization of imperial frontiers and imaginations through photography. • Role of and dependencies on local labour and intermediaries. • Somali geographic knowledge and the social lives of borderlands. • Sovereign gaze subverted by subaltern stowaway presences and fugitive landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inception in the 1990s, mobile telephony in Africa has evolved, reflecting varied advances in technology. These advances have become particularly reminiscent of the role of mobile technologies in everyday facets of life. In this paper, we examine infrastructural configurations of mobile telephony in an urban African context. We demonstrate how urban Africa is being instrumented through the incoming of mobile telephony, but also how the convergence of the digital and the physical is materializing through the everyday use and appropriation of mobile phone-based technologies. We make this contribution through illustrations and vignettes – including Mkokoteni handcart operations, electricity "token" meter connections, and mobile phone kiosk processes – from Buru Buru, an estate in Nairobi. Thus, we place our analysis within recent area studies scholarship, drawing perspectives from science, technology and society studies, infrastructure studies and urban studies. We contend that the variegated infrastructural configurations of mobile telephony challenge ingrained accounts of technological determinism, not least within conventional area studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we juxtapose two different sectors of China's economic presence in Africa: transport and digital infrastructure. Using the case of Kenya, a country that hosts several flagship corridors funded by Chinese loans and where Chinese "digital champions" have been active for two decades, we highlight some of the differences and similarities between these two forms of China's going-out capitalism in the continent. Our argument is that these 'varieties of capital' are conterminous, and they operate through both strategic and contingent overlaps within the same 'state-market nexus' and at the interface with programmes and goals of the African 'infrastructure state'. To illustrate this point, we draw on a comparative research effort inspired by a growing body of scholarship that has been labelled under the tag of 'Global China' and by a political economy reading of 'the market-in-state' system. This paper thus contributes empirically and conceptually to de-essentializing the Chinese presence in the African continent by recognizing the contextual agencies that shape it—the ambitious developmental agendas of the African state, in particular—as well as the interplay between its different corporate forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates risk-oriented frameworks for explaining environmental, social, and economic changes faced by fishing and herding communities in the Turkana Basin during and after the African Humid Period (AHP, 15–5 ka). The orbitally-forced AHP created moist conditions, high lake levels, and unusual hydrological connections across much of northern and eastern Africa. As arid conditions set in and rainfall decreased between 5.3 and 3.9 ka in eastern Africa, Lake Turkana (NW Kenya) shrank dramatically. Shoreline retreat coincided with an expansion of open plains, creating new ecological conditions and potential opportunities for early herders in the basin. In this changing landscape, economies shifted from food procurement (fishing/hunting aquatic resources) to food production (herding), likely through both in-migration by pastoralists and adoption of herding by local fishers. Early pastoralists also built at least seven megalithic pillar sites that served as communal cemeteries during this time. Recent research has shown that local environmental dynamics – both during and after the AHP – were complex, demanding a more careful interrogation of the notion that post-AHP life entailed new and/or heightened risks. Risk-buffering strategies might include mobility, diversification, physical storage, and exchange. Archaeologists working around Lake Turkana have proposed that economic shifts from fishing to pastoralism entailed increased mobility as a risk-buffering strategy to deal with aridity and resource unpredictability, and that pillar sites – as fixed landmarks in an unstable landscape – provided settings for congregation and exchange amongst increasingly mobile herding communities. However, recent research has shown that local environmental dynamics in the Lake Turkana basin – both during and after the AHP – were more complex than previously thought, necessitating re-evaluation of the notion that post-AHP life entailed new and/or heightened risks. Here, we explore risk buffering strategies (e.g. mobility, diversification, physical storage and/or exchange) as only one category of potential explanation for the new social practices observed in the region at this time. Gauging their applicability requires us to (a) assess the spatial mobility of communities and individuals interred at pillar sites; (b) evaluate whether and how mobility strategies may have changed as pastoralism supplanted fishing; and (c) examine alternative explanations for social and economic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Termites are widely distributed globally and serve as a valuable food source in many countries. However, information on the myriad nutritional benefits of processed termite products in African markets remain largely unexploited. This study evaluated the phytochemicals, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and proximate composition of the edible winged termites (Macrotermes spp.) from three major Counties of Kenya. A total of 9 flavonoids, 5 alkaloids, and 1 cytokinin were identified. The oil content varied from 33 to 46%, exhibiting significant levels of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, such as methyl (9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadecatrienoate and methyl (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z,17Z)-eicosapentaenoate, ranging from 82.7–95.1 to 6.3–8.1 µg/g, respectively, across the different regions. Four essential and cereal-limiting amino acids lysine (1.0–1.3 mg/g), methionine (0.08–0.1 mg/g), leucine (0.6–0.9 mg/g) and threonine (0.1–0.2 mg/g), were predominant. Moreover, termites had a rich profile of essential minerals, including iron (70.7–111.8 mg/100 g), zinc (4.4–16.2 mg/100 g) and calcium (33.1–53.0 mg/100 g), as well as vitamins A (2.4–6.4 mg/kg), C (0.6–1.9 mg/kg) and B12 (10.7–17.1 mg/kg). The crude protein (32.2–44.8%) and fat (41.2–49.1%) contents of termites from the various Counties was notably high. These findings demonstrated the promising nutrients potential of winged termites and advocate for their sustainable utilization in contemporary efficacious functional food applications to combat malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Nderit Ware," a type of pottery famous in eastern Africa for its remarkably intricate basket-like bowls, is associated with evidence for the region's earliest pastoralism during a time period known as the Pastoral Neolithic (PN, c. 5000-1200 cal BP). This paper reviews the changing ways archaeologists have conceptualized "Nderit" pottery over the past eighty years. The "Nderit" ware type was defined in relation to initial finds in central Kenya, decades before archaeologists discovered Nderit had greater antiquity as a technology/artistic tradition in northwest Kenya's Turkana Basin. Ceramic assemblages from pillar sites surrounding Lake Turkana – including Lothagam North (GeJi9) and Jarigole (GbJj1) – reveal a more variable and complex history of ceramic production and use than previously recognized. Nderit's first known production and use is associated with the region's earliest food producers, mobile pastoralists establishing themselves around a dramatically shrinking Lake Turkana. These findings carry important implications for reconstructing the cultural history and material lives of early herding groups moving within and beyond the Turkana Basin, and expand our frame of reference for understanding the origins of pottery production by mobile, small-scale groups worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tsetse flies, the sole biological vectors of trypanosomiasis, are predominantly controlled using visual traps and targets baited with attractant lures. Formulation of the lures is informed by compositions of odors from vertebrate hosts preferred by specific tsetse species. However, there are no effective lures for Glossina austeni, a major vector of trypanosomiasis along eastern-coastal region of Africa. Formulation of the lure can be informed by knowledge of G. austeni, preferred vertebrate hosts. We thus sought to understand these hosts by assessment of putative bloodmeal sources of this tsetse fly in Arabuko Sokoke National Reserve where this species is naturally present. We sampled tsetse flies using NGU traps, isolated non-teneral G. austeni flies based on their feeding status, and identified vertebrate source of bloodmeals in their midgut contents using vertebrate 16S rRNA-PCR High-Resolution Melting analysis. We analyzed the relative vertebrate species frequencies in the bloodmeals using Fisher's exact tests. Overall, we trapped 122 flies, most of which (66.39%) were non-teneral, among which we successfully identified the vertebrate bloodmeals in 30 samples. Specifically, we detected putative suni antelope (Neotragus moschatus), harnessed bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and cattle (Bos taurus) derived bloodmeals. Putative suni antelope bloodmeals were significantly more frequent (63.22%), than those of the harnessed bushbuck (23.33%), buffalo (10.00%) or cattle (3.33%) (p < 0.05 Fisher's exact tests) among the samples analyzed. Suni antelope thus appears to predominate vertebrate bloodmeal source for G. austeni in the reserve, coincident with findings reported elsewhere, and is therefore a viable candidate for bioprospecting for G. austeni responsive attractants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carefully planned research is critical to developing policies and interventions that counter physical, psychological and social challenges faced by young people living with HIV/AIDS, without increasing burdens. Such studies, however, must navigate a 'vulnerability paradox', since including potentially vulnerable groups also risks unintentionally worsening their situation. Through embedded social science research, linked to a cohort study involving Adolescents Living with HIV/AIDS (ALH) in Kenya, we develop an account of researchers' responsibilities towards young people, incorporating concepts of vulnerability, resilience, and agency as 'interacting layers'. Methods: Using a qualitative, iterative approach across three linked data collection phases including interviews, group discussions, observations and a participatory workshop, we explored stakeholders' perspectives on vulnerability and resilience of young people living with HIV/AIDS, in relation to home and community, school, health care and health research participation. A total of 62 policy, provider, research, and community-based stakeholders were involved, including 27 ALH participating in a longitudinal cohort study. Data analysis drew on a Framework Analysis approach; ethical analysis adapts Luna's layered account of vulnerability. Results: ALH experienced forms of vulnerability and resilience in their daily lives in which socioeconomic context, institutional policies, organisational systems and interpersonal relations were key, interrelated influences. Anticipated and experienced forms of stigma and discrimination in schools, health clinics and communities were linked to actions undermining ART adherence, worsening physical and mental health, and poor educational outcomes, indicating cascading forms of vulnerability, resulting in worsened vulnerabilities. Positive inputs within and across sectors could build resilience, improve outcomes, and support positive research experiences. Conclusions: The most serious forms of vulnerability faced by ALH in the cohort study were related to structural, inter-sectoral influences, unrelated to study participation and underscored by constraints to their agency. Vulnerabilities, including cascading forms, were potentially responsive to policy-based and interpersonal actions. Stakeholder engagement supported cohort design and implementation, building privacy, stakeholder understanding, interpersonal relations and ancillary care policies. Structural forms of vulnerability underscore researchers' responsibilities to work within multi-sectoral partnerships to plan and implement studies involving ALH, share findings in a timely way and contribute to policies addressing known causes of vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Americas, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) exists in two genetically distinct strains, the corn (C) and rice (R) strains. Despite their names, these strains are not associated with host plant preferences but have been shown to vary in pheromone composition and male responses. Recently, S. frugiperda was detected in Africa as an invasive species, but knowledge about variation in strain types, pheromone composition and inter-strain mating of populations of the pest in the continent has not been fully examined. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate variations, if any in the pheromone composition of female moths, male moth responses, and mating between C and R mitotypes of S. frugiperda populations in Kenya, as well as their geographic distribution. Strains (mitotypes) of S. frugiperda were identified using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers, and their pheromonal composition determined by coupled gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) analysis. Male moth responses to these compounds were evaluated using GC-electroantennographic detection (EAD), electroantennogram (EAG), and wind tunnel assays. Oviposition assays were used to determine whether R and C mitotype moths could mate and produce eggs. The results showed that both the R and C mitotypes were present, and there were no statistically significant differences in their distribution across all sampled locations. Five pheromone compounds including (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12:OAc), (Z)-7-tetradecenyl acetate (Z7-14:OAc), (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc), (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:OAc) and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc), were detected in the pheromone glands of female moths of both mitotypes, with Z9-14:OAc being the most abundant. The relative percentage composition of Z9-14:OAc was similar in both mitotypes. However, the R mitotype had a 2.7 times higher relative percentage composition of Z7-12:OAc compared to the C mitotype moth, while the C mitotype moth had a 2.4 times higher relative percentage composition of Z11-16:OAc than the R mitotype moth. Male moths of both mitotypes exhibited similar responses to the pheromone compounds, showing the strongest responses to Z9-14:OAc and Z7-12:OAc in electrophysiological and behavioural assays. There was mating between R and C mitotypes with egg production comparable to mating within the same mitotype. Our results revealed that differences between the two S. frugiperda mitotypes are characterized by female moth pheromone composition rather than male moth responses to the pheromones, and that this does not prevent hybridisation between the mitotypes, which may have implications for their management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes and describes an interesting and potentially powerful means to validate large-scale biocontrol agent impacts during a Classical biological control (CBC) programme. • The methodology derives the beneficiaries' farmers from the dispersal of parasitoids at a landscape level. • The methodology was applied to the endoparasitoid Fopius arisanus release to control fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis in Africa. • The study's outcome is appropriate for agriculture stakeholders and development partners to evaluate the benefits of CBC programme. Following the invasion of Africa by the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis , Classical biological control (CBC) has been exploited as a safer alternative for its suppression by the introduction and release of the koinobiont endoparasitoid, Fopius arisanus. Although the parasitoids have been released in several African countries, the extent of their dispersal and the resulting extent in benefits to fruit growers have not yet been elucidated. This paper proposes an innovative, multi-level CBC impact analysis that combines cellular automata (CA) and ecological niche models to estimate parasitoid dispersal ranges and the range of farmers who benefit from it. Firstly, we provided a generic, systematic methodological approach using CA rules incorporated into species distribution. Secondly, the model was used to estimate the dispersal range of the parasitoid, based on the life history and bioecology of the host insect (fruit fly) and the parasitoid. Finally, the parasitoid dispersal coverage was mapped across fruit crops attacked by the target fruit fly, and the number of households that benefited from the parasitoids release programme was extracted from the area of the dispersal. The data was projected across all countries where the parasitoid has been released and validated. In Kenya, the model showed that F. arisanus had covered a total area of 50.34 km2 from the initial point of open field release; and at the continental scale, the model predicted that the parasitoid had covered a total area of 229.97 km2. The model estimated that 351,855 and 3,731,330 households had directly benefited from the release of F. arisanus between 2013 and 2018 in Kenya and at the continental level, respectively. The study's outcome is appropriate for providing feedback information on the impact of CBC to government and development partners to assist in making informed decisions on technological interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1998 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in Paris recommended that global higher education institutions should internationalize and reduce inequalities between developed and emerging countries. Since then, universities strive to incorporate an international dimension in their service. The aim was initially guided by the 20th century understanding of internationalization being just, fair, and an equitable process that promotes peace and mutual understanding. However, under the influence of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and competition, internationalization changed focus and became less inclusive. This paper explores inclusive international education in East Africa using narrative review methodology. Findings suggest that rather than promoting access and equity in higher education, internationalization, for example, excludes economically disadvantaged, disabled, and adult learners. Thus, in addition to internationalization at home, inclusive internationalization abroad strategies should be devised. Internationalization of higher education is more valuable if it translates into fair, just, and peaceful social systems.

There is consensus that teacher educators should be held responsible for the trainees that they graduate. COVID-19 led to rapid response to the crisis by promoting adoption of remote learning. Ministries of education all over the world aligned rapid response to their long-term learning priorities. Efforts should be geared towards enhancing the skills of teacher educators and the trainee teachers in crisis risk reduction and management through micro-teaching course. Educational media practical skill training is critical to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all. Teachers need Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge to use technology for economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental conservation. Digitalization of the curriculum is about looking ahead of crises that may disrupt learning. However, studies on integration of ICT into pedagogy have revealed gross incompetence of teachers and lack of infrastructure and instructional leadership to support its implementation. Additionally, Ministries of Education in Africa have not institutionalized crisis-risk reduction and management into education policies and programs. Moreover, effective continuous professional development for teacher educators and learners has not been institutionalized in higher education in Kenya. Therefore, adoption and integration of ICT into higher education curriculum and pedagogy is still at a nascent stage. A study was done among fourth year pre-service teacher trainees at Maasai Mara University to establish how effective the media practical skills training prepared them for teaching practice and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge Content. The findings revealed that there was a relationship between media practical skills training and teaching practice. They also revealed that most of the students had pedagogical and content knowledge but no Technological Knowledge. This study has recommended revision of the teacher education curriculum, capacity building of teacher educators in 21st Century skills on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and provision of well-equipped resource centers in teacher training institutions. [End Page 130] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention is highly effective, but uptake remains low in Africa, especially among young women who are a priority population for HIV prevention services. HIV self-testing (HIVST) has been proven to increase HIV testing in diverse populations but has been underutilized to support linkage to HIV prevention services. Most young women who initiate PrEP in Africa do so through informal peer referral. We wanted to test a model of formalized peer referral enhanced with HIVST delivery among young Kenyan women. Methods: The Peer PrEP Trial is a two-arm hybrid effectiveness-implementation cluster-randomized controlled trial being conducted in central Kenya. Eligible participants (i.e., peer providers, n = 80) are women (≥ 16–24 years) refilling or initiating PrEP at public healthcare clinics who can identify at least four peers who could benefit from PrEP and not enrolled in another HIV study. Peer providers will be 1:1 randomized to (1) formal peer PrEP referral + HIVST delivery, where they will be encouraged to refer four peers (i.e., peer clients, ≥ 16–24 years) using educational materials and HIVST kits (two per peer client), or (2) informal peer PrEP referral, where they are encouraged to refer four peer clients using informal word-of-mouth referral. In both arms, peer providers will deliver a standard PrEP referral card with information on nearby public clinics delivering PrEP services. Peer providers will complete surveys at baseline and 3 months; peer clients will complete surveys at 3 months. Our primary outcome is PrEP initiation among peer clients, as reported by peer providers at 3 months. Secondary outcomes include PrEP continuation (any refilling), HIV testing (past 3 months), sexual behaviors (past month), and PrEP adherence (past month) among peer clients, as reported by both peer providers and clients at 3 months. Implementation outcomes will include participants' perceived acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the intervention as well assessments of the intervention's fidelity and cost. Discussion: Evidence from this trial will help us understand how HIVST could support health systems by facilitating linkage to PrEP services among young women who could benefit in Kenya and similar settings. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04982250. Registered on July 29, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores poverty dimensions and negative experiences of households living in secondary cities of Kenya with the aim of understanding the determinants of the willingness to pay to access water services. Our findings suggest that negative experiences of households related to poor access to water, like water crises, water borne diseases, and daily time to fetch water, seem to play an important role. Conversely, poverty dimensions are not necessarily influential. More specifically, while daily income of the household is an important factor, other variables, namely, education, food shortages, and access to information do not have significant effects. Our evidence suggests that to raise the awareness of this public good's value, local governments should focus on improving citizens' information especially in poor areas, as well as the ability to pay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the pioneering role of Kenya's mobile money service – M-PESA, a consortium of international development agencies, philanthropists, academics, tech corporations and governments – have led an optimistic account of a poverty-eradicating, prosperity-spreading power of financial technology (fintech) in the global South. In contrast, a growing critical IPE literature has demonstrated that the optimistic accounts are broad-brush and misleading. Drawing from recent theorization on digital financialisation and Marxian conceptualization of capital accumulation, this article shifts the focus of the Kenya-centered critical response to Ghana, the second largest mobile money market in Africa. Relying on quantitative data from the Bank of Ghana, and qualitative data from 42 semi-structured interviews, the article provides evidence to show that the mobile money boom in Ghana is underpinned by (1) customer indebtedness from digital microloans, (2) high transaction costs, (3) excessive taxation, and (4) a prevalence of dormant accounts. Collectively, the findings confirm the wider critical literature suggesting that, far from ending poverty and inspiring prosperity, the fintech-financial-inclusion agenda in Africa is opening new frontiers for a sustained and intensified capitalist exploitation of working-class labor in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eppelsheimer's article examines Holocaust refugees' experiences in colonial Kenya. It draws attention to the autobiographical novels of German Jewish author Stefanie Zweig, as well as testimonies and memoirs of former Holocaust refugees who had fled to Kenya, and asks if and how refugees' own experiences of racial persecution informed their responses to colonial racism. This article illustrates how Zweig responded in aesthetic terms to her experience in colonial spaces. It does so by examining autobiographical aspects of Zweig's writings, highlighting the author's upbringing in multiple cultures, literary traditions and languages, and discussing Zweig's novels in the contexts of white British settler writing about Kenya, as well as the German 'Africa-novel'-—both of which have shaped the images and perspectives of Kenya among millions of readers. It examines such European colonialist perspectives and discourses in literary texts as well as testimonies. In so doing, it questions whether a text like Nowhere in Africa, which is about the experiences of a German Jewish refugee family in Kenya, contributes to the silencing of African voices and the obscuring of African history by colonial historiography and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the author's experiences growing up in a family of traditional healers, an account of early guidance by her grandmother, a severe illness that influenced her to become a healer and the values that are central to her own work as a traditional healer who specialises in treatment of mental health problems. The impact of colonisation on traditional healing practices in Africa is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores common factors associated with not meeting minimum dietary diversity (MDD) among 27,072 children aged 6–23 months in Eastern and Southern Africa using data from nine Demographic and Health Surveys from 2013 to 2016. MDD was defined as consumption of more than or equals to five of eight food groups including breast milk in the past 24 h. Equity gaps were calculated as the difference in MDD prevalence between the top and bottom wealth quintiles. Logistic regression was conducted to identify common factors for not meeting MDD at the household, maternal and child levels across two or more countries to inform regional policies to improve children's diets. Kenya had the highest MDD wealth equity gap (40.4 pts), and South Africa had the smallest (14.4 pts). Equity gaps for flesh foods or eggs (up to 39.8 pp) were larger than for grain or legumes (up to 20 pp). Common risk factors for not reaching MDD included younger child age (6–11 months) (n = 9 countries), no formal maternal occupation (n = 6), not receiving vitamin‐A supplementation (n = 3), younger maternal age (n = 3), lower maternal education (n = 3), no media (n = 3) or newspaper (n = 3) exposure, lower household wealth quintile (n = 3), use of nonefficient cooking fuel (n = 2), longer time to get to the water source (n = 2), not listening to the radio (n = 2) and higher birth order (n = 2). Priorities for improving MDD in the region include introducing diverse foods at a young age from 6 months with early nutrition counselling, promoting higher maternal education, increasing food purchasing power and ensuring the support of younger mothers. Key messages: Diets of children in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) lack diversity.A number of common risk factors predict dietary diversity across countries.Risk factors for low dietary diversity include wealth, education and media access.Wide equity gaps were apparent for most food groups in ESA.Interventions addressing affordability and access to diverse diets are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The confluence of political party polarization, interparty conflict, and contentious politics is nearly a universal axiom in Africa. Although the reasons for parties to protest and rally are many, pinpointing who actually participates is rather tricky. Building on previous literature regarding the influential power of political parties on member behaviour, this study proposes political party affiliation strength as metric for identifying whom within political parties is more and less likely to participate in in-person political protests and rallies. Using data on Kenya, Nigeria, and Tunisia, this study finds strong supporting evidence that party affiliation strength effects protest participation propensity mediated by party-government linkages. Those strongly affiliated to political parties that enjoy majority power in government are less likely to protest, and strong affiliates of non-majority power-holding parties are more likely to protest. Preliminary evidence presented here also demonstrates those with non-political party affiliation are significantly more likely to post online about political issues rather than participate in in-person contentious politics. This study's findings help further bridge the gap between individual political psychology and macro-level political behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tunnels may suffer severe damage when passing through an active fault in high-intensity earthquake zones. The present study aims to investigate the performance of an isolation layer composed of a rubber-sand mixture, an emerging trend in low-cost seismic mitigation studies. Based on the Ngong tunnel in the Nairobi-Malaba Railroad in Kenya, Africa, the effect of the rubber-sand isolation layer on the acceleration and strain of the tunnel lining was investigated through a shaking table test under small normal fault creep-slip and subsequent seismic shaking. The influences of the length of the isolation layer and the rubber content in the mixture were analyzed by numerical simulation. The results indicate that the isolation layer slightly reduces the acceleration response of the tunnel lining within the fault and obviously reduces the permanent strain of the invert and crown within the fault under small normal fault creep-slip and subsequent seismic excitation. The mitigation effect of the isolation layer is related to the length of the isolation layer and the rubber content in the mixture. In the case of this study, the length of the isolation layer is triple the fault width (influence range of the fault) and the appropriate enhancement of the rubber content of the isolation layer offers favorable conditions for mitigation effect, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Türkiye has become an assertive player in soft power politics since Joseph Nye coined the term and its subsequent adoption by leaders as a coherent external relations strategy. Focusing on Africa from the beginning of 2000, Türkiye has built its structures of influence and steadily expanded its persuasion on the continent. The wielding of Türkiye's soft power in Africa is yet to receive sufficient academic attention. This study attempts to contextualise the extent of Türkiye's attractive power using the flourishing social economic relations with Kenya as a case study. Soft power is necessary in enhancing people-to-people relations, knowledge and information sharing, improvement of trade networks, and staging of coalitions against global threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Plasmodium falciparum human malaria parasite is resistant to most available medicines in Africa, necessitating research for new drugs. Rubia cordifolia L. is used in traditional malaria treatment in Kenya despite no supporting scientific data. Objectives: To evaluate anti-plasmodial efficacy of extracts from the aerial part of Rubia cordifolia against chloroquine sensitive (3D7) and resistant (W2) Plasmodium falciparum strains. Methods: Hexane, methanol and water were separately used in crude extractions from open shade dried aerial plant parts. Phytochemical composition was determined qualitatively. Anti-plasmodial efficacy of serial dilutions (range; 0.4 to 50 μg/ml) of each extract were evaluated in vitro and compared using ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test, at p<0.05). Results: All the extracts significantly inhibited parasites growth, in a dose dependent manner. At 50 μg/ml, inhibition was (84.07%, 77.94% and 66.08%) for hexane, methanol and water extracts respectively against W2 and (80.06%, 78.36% and 60.92%) against 3D7 strain. Hexane extract showed IC50 0.551 μg/ml and 2.747 micrograms/ml against W2 and 3D7 respectively. Methanol extract, IC50 1.231 and 3.528 μ g/ml respectively, aqueous extract showed moderate activity, IC50 5.348 μg/ml and 17.341 μg/ml against the strains respectively. Chloroquine resistant (W2 strain) was more responsive to the extracts than 3D7 strain. Conclusion: Anti-plasmodial activities were in the order, Hexane>methanol>aqueous and were attributed to the phytochemicals present in the extracts. This presents evidence of R. cordifolia as anti-malarial drugs' source. Further work is required to identify, purify, and characterize active molecules for development of anti-malaria drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses Kenya and Ghana as case studies to analyse the construction of children, information and communication technologies (ICT) and the internet in Africa. The article discusses the interaction of girl-child protection and media risk discourses and the implication for children, girls, and women in Africa. It highlights the positioning of children in relation to ICT and the internet in terms of gender, age, class, and other demographic factors. It further examines whether, how and which children are constructed as agents or victims, and the ways in which their agency/victimhood is discussed. The article finds dominant child protection and media risk discourses focusing on the risk posed by the internet for children, particularly girls, as the main drivers of the representation of the problem. It also offers a critique of the solutions proposed to addressing the problems presented by the internet for children for taking a homogenising as well as a legalistic and regulatory approach. The article concludes by problematizing these problem representations and solutions, as well as the silences and the ways in which the in problems can be approached differently. Prior State of Knowledge: A lot of research documents the realisation of children's rights provided by the UN Convention on the rights of the Child. However, there is a dearth of research on the digital rights of children particularly in Africa. Novel Contributions: Through analysis of policy and institutional perspectives relating to children, ICTs and the internet in Kenya and Ghana, this article offers a critical approach to the construction of children and ICTs in policy and practice. Practical Implications: The article counters dominant narratives that may affect children's ability to access and benefit from the internet. It advocates for policies and programs that seek to understand children's online experiences and support children to engage constructively with the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Incorporating the dominant male sterile gene, Ms44, in new maize varieties results in 50% non-pollen producing (FNP) varieties. This makes the varieties more nitrogen efficient and increases yield directly by an average of 200 kg ha−1 across yield levels. However, as half of the plants do not shed pollen, the presence of Ms44 in an FNP variety is clearly visible. This technology can improve food production and security in the African maize-based agri-food systems, but only if accepted by farmers. Farmers were therefore invited to 11 on-farm, researcher managed trial sites of FNP varieties in Kenya over 2 years. They were asked to identify the traits they find important in evaluating maize varieties and to score the FNP varieties, as well as their conventional counterparts, on these criteria (including yield, resistance to pests, and cob size) and overall, using a five-point hedonic scale. In total, 2,697 farmers participated, of which 62% were women. Farmers mentioned many traits they find important, especially yield and related traits, early maturity, and drought resistance, but also tassel and pollen formation. In 2017, mid-season, participants scored FNP varieties lower than conventional varieties on tassel and pollen formation, indicating that farmers could distinguish the trait. FNP varieties still received higher scores for yield and overall evaluation. In mid-season 2018, participants no longer scored FNP varieties lower for pollen formation as they now understood the technology. In both years, at the end-season evaluation, scores for tassel formation were not different, but participants scored FNP varieties higher for yield and overall. We conclude that farmers recognized the FNP trait but did not mind it as they clearly favored its yield advantage. The FNP technology, therefore, has high potential not only to increase maize yields, food production, and food security in the agricultural systems of Africa but also to increase varietal turnover and the adoption of new, high-yielding, climate-smart maize hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy is life altering for women. For an adolescent girl, a pregnancy can set her on a radically different life trajectory, potentially toward a life of poverty. Across the world, governments differ in the way they respond to teenage pregnancy, especially in light of policies toward schoolgirls finishing their education. We explore how religion correlates with policy and practice toward teenage pregnancy, examining whether teenage moms are supported if they want to return to school after giving birth. We consider whether the predominant religion in a country corresponded to the type of policies that were passed. We use Gallup World data to predict whether a country that criminalizes or expels pregnant schoolgirls by their self-reported religion. We also run a simple ordinary least squares regression to estimate a linear probability model with the outcome that indicates whether the country expels pregnant teens from school or considers teen pregnancy a criminal expense. Findings indicate that countries that were primarily Protestant Christian were much more likely to have restorative policies toward girls who were pregnant or had given birth, supporting them if they decided to pursue school completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Big Five factor model is one of the most frequently used models in modern personality psychology. It captures personality in terms of five broad dimensions, namely Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability/Neuroticism, and Intellect/Openness to experience, discovered through a series of psycho-lexical studies. We translated the Big Five Inventory (BFI), a metric developed to operationalize the Big Five personality structure, into the Swahili language and evaluated the psychometric properties of both the newly developed Swahili version and the original English version in a sample of 200 university students (114 women; 86 men; average age: 20.16) in Kenya. Principal Component Analysis with varimax rotation of the five factors was conducted for both raw and ipsatized scores, for both language versions of the BFI. Only two factors were fully replicated, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism. Conscientiousness factor was fully replicated using ipsatized scores of the English BFI, while Neuroticism was replicated with both the raw and ipsatized scores of the English BFI. The Swahili version of the BFI failed to unambiguously replicate any of the five factors with neither the raw nor the ipsatized scores. Results also showed poor-to-moderate scale reliabilities of both the English and the Swahili versions of the BFI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, a pest of maize native to the Americas first reported in West and Central Africa in 2016, severely threatens maize production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Native genetic resistance is one of the best methods of control of insect pests as it is contained in the seed making it more amenable for use by farmers compared to other interventions and it is also compatible with other integrated pest management (IPM) options. An intensive screening against FAW was carried out by artificial infestation in greenhouse conditions in Kenya between 2017 and 2018 on about 3000 inbred lines available in the germplasm collection of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Among these lines, only four showed to be resistant to FAW, but the mechanisms of resistance are not yet known. The objective of this study was to determine the resistance mechanisms specifically non-preference and antibiosis to S. frugiperda in these four selected resistant inbred lines. The studies were conducted under laboratory and net house conditions in Kenya from April 2020 to November 2021. Non-preference was assessed estimating the feeding preference by counting the number of FAW neonates found on each leaf portion, silk portion and grain using binary and multiple choice methods under laboratory conditions, while antibiosis was assessed through the relative growth rate (RGR) and developmental time of FAW larvae on leaves, silks and grains under both laboratory and net house conditions. Among the four resistant maize inbred lines tested, two, namely CML71 and CKSBL10008, exhibited the highest level of antibiosis resistance on leaves. Under laboratory conditions, the larval RGR reduced from 13 mg/d on the most susceptible line to 8 mg/d on CML71. CML71 also showed a good non-preference on leaves compared to other tested lines. Only 6% of neonates choose to feed on CML71 whereas more than 10% choose to feed on the other lines (and 15% on the most susceptible) in multiple choice tests. The non-preference for feeding and lower RGR of larvae on CML71 suggest a biochemical involvement resistance to FAW. Through this study, CML71 is revealed as a highly promising line for use in breeding for native genetic resistance to FAW in tropical maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), native to the Americas, was confirmed in West and Central Africa in 2016 and reported in almost all countries of sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, becoming thereafter one of the major constraints on the production of maize, the main staple food crop in the region. Cereals depend on silicon (Si)-based defences to fight off herbivores. Both FAW strains, namely rice and corn strains, have been found to be present in Kenya. The present study tested the influence of Si on larval survival and relative growth rate according to the FAW strain, using potted maize plants treated with 10 and 20 g of Si. The results showed that plants treated with Si disturbed the larval growth of FAW larvae only from the corn strain but not from the rice strain. Overall, the corn strain performed better on maize as compared to the rice strain regardless of Si treatment, explaining why it has become the most abundant strain in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Female genital fistulas are abnormal communications that lead to urinary and/or fecal incontinence. This analysis compares the characteristics of women with fistulas to understand how countries differ from one another in the circumstances of genital fistula development.Methods: This retrospective records review evaluated demographics and circumstances of fistula development for 6,787 women who sought fistula treatment between 1994 and 2017 in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Zambia, and Ethiopia.Results: Most women developed fistula during childbirth, whether vaginal (3,234/6,787, 47.6%) or by cesarean section (3,262/6,787, 48.1%). Others had fistulas attributable to gynecological surgery (215/6,787, 3.2%) or rare causes (76/6,787, 1.1%). Somalia, South Sudan, and Ethiopia had comparatively high proportions following vaginal birth and birth at home, where access to care was extremely difficult. Fistulas with live births were most common in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia, indicating more easily accessible care.Conclusions: Characteristics of women who develop genital fistula point to geographic differences in obstetric care. Access to care remains a clear challenge in South Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Higher proportions of fistula after cesarean birth and gynecological surgery in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia signal potential progress in obstetric fistula prevention while compelling attention to surgical safety and quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variability in resource availability is hypothesized to be a significant driver of primate adaptation and evolution, but most paleoclimate proxies cannot recover environmental seasonality on the scale of an individual lifespan. Oxygen isotope compositions (δ18O values) sampled at high spatial resolution in the dentitions of modern African primates (n = 2,352 near weekly measurements from 26 teeth) track concurrent seasonal precipitation, regional climatic patterns, discrete meteorological events, and niche partitioning. We leverage these data to contextualize the first δ18O values of two 17Ma Afropithecus turkanensis individuals from Kalodirr, Kenya, from which we infer variably bimodal wet seasons, supported by rainfall reconstructions in a global Earth system model. Afropithecus' δ18O fluctuations are intermediate in magnitude between those measured at high resolution in baboons (Papio spp.) living across a gradient of aridity and modern forest-dwelling chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). This large-bodied Miocene ape consumed seasonally variable food and water sources enriched in 18O compared to contemporaneous terrestrial fauna (n = 66 fossil specimens). Reliance on fallback foods during documented dry seasons potentially contributed to novel dental features long considered adaptations to hardobject feeding. Developmentally informed microsampling recovers greater ecological complexity than conventional isotope sampling; the two Miocene apes (n = 248 near weekly measurements) evince as great a range of seasonal δ18O variation as more timeaveraged bulk measurements from 101 eastern African Plio-Pleistocene hominins and 42 papionins spanning 4 million y. These results reveal unprecedented environmental histories in primate teeth and suggest a framework for evaluating climate change and primate paleoecology throughout the Cenozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Globally, women have higher herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) prevalence than men; data from observational studies suggest a possible association of HSV-2 acquisition with use of intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM). Methods Within a randomized trial of the effect of 3 contraceptive methods—DMPA-IM, a copper intrauterine device (IUD), and a levonorgestrel (LNG) implant—on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition, we assessed HSV-2 acquisition. HSV-2 and HIV seronegative women, aged 16–35 years, and seeking effective contraception were followed for 12–18 months at 12 sites in Eswatini, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia from 2015 to 2018. HSV-2 serologic testing was done at enrollment and final study visits. Intention-to-treat analysis using Poisson regression with robust standard errors compared HSV-2 incidence by contraceptive method. Results At baseline, 4062 randomized women were HSV-2 seronegative, of whom 3898 (96.0%) had a conclusive HSV-2 result at their final study visit. Of these, 614 (15.8%) acquired HSV-2, at an incidence of 12.4/100 person-years (p-y): 10.9/100 p-y among women assigned DMPA-IM, 13.7/100 p-y the copper IUD, and 12.7/100 p-y the LNG implant. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) for HSV-2 acquisition were 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI],.65–.97) for DMPA-IM compared with copper IUD, 0.86 (95% CI,.71–1.05) for DMPA-IM compared with LNG implant, and 1.08 (95% CI,.89–1.30) for copper IUD compared with LNG implant. HSV-2 acquisition risk was significantly increased among women who also acquired HIV during follow-up (IRR 3.55; 95% CI, 2.78–4.48). Conclusions In a randomized trial, we found no association between HSV-2 acquisition and use of 3 contraceptive methods. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02550067. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]