Inflammation, diarrhea, and microbial infections produce high morbidity and mortality globally, contributing to a high burden of disease in developing countries. Despite the utilisation of conventional drugs to treat inflammation, diarrhea, and microbial infections, their inaccessibility, unaffordability and their side effects hinder the successful treatment and alleviation of disease. The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and fungi strains have compromised the efficiency of antimicrobial chemotherapy, which leads to undesirable sequalae. There is an urgent need to search for alternative therapies, which are efficacious, affordable, accessible and safe in order to alleviate human suffering and promote the quality of life. Medicinal plants present a feasible alternative source of potent pharmacological molecules, which are affordable, easily accessible and safe due to the many biologically active phytochemicals they have. Although medicinal plants have been used by humans for ages as medicines and food, only a few have been empirically investigated. Cucumis dipsaceus has a long history of ethnomedicinal usage in treating inflammation, diarrhea, and microbial infections, in Kenya and other countries. However, there is scanty empirical data to validate its efficacy and safety. The anti-inflammatory antidiarrhea, antimicrobial, and toxic effects of methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit (methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit) extracts of C. dipsaceus were investigated. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus were studied using the formalin-induced paw oedema technique in Wistar rats. The castor oil-induced diarrhea method was used to determine the antidiarrhea activity of the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of the studied plant in Wistar rats. Isolated rabbit ileum was used to determine the effects of the C. dipsaceus extracts on the gastrointestinal motility. Antimicrobial activity of the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts was determined using the disk diffusion and broth microdilution techniques described previously. The acute oral and dermal toxicity effects of the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus were studied in rabbits and rats, respectively, using appropriate guidelines. Data was analysed using GraphPad Prism statistical software version 9.1. The results indicated significant reductions in formalin-induced paw oedema in the Wistar rats by methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus, in a dose- and time-dependent manner (P<0.05), with percentage inhibition of between 1.56% and 97.59%. Methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus significantly (P<0.05) inhibited diarrhea and intestinal motility in Wistar rats and rabbits respectively, in a dose-dependent manner, thereby depicting their antidiarrhea effects. Furthermore, the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus significantly inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa, S. enteriditis, E. coli, C. albicans, and B. subtilis in varying degrees as depicted by the different growth inhibition zones of between 6 mm and 20 mm and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations of 3.125 µg/ml. The observed anti-inflammatory, antidiarrhea, and antimicrobial activities of the plant extracts were attributed to various phytochemicals extractable by water and methanol, which exerted pharmacological efficacy via various mechanisms. Moreover, aqueous and the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus showed no observable acute dermal toxicity effects on the abraded and intact skins of New Zealand White rabbits. Similarly, the methanolic and aqueous leaf and fruit extracts of C. dipsaceus showed no observable acute oral toxicity during the 14-day experimental period. In conclusion, the extracts were considered safe according to the OECD Guidelines. Further pharmacological and toxicological investigations of the tested plant extracts using more advanced techniques should be done in order to elucidate and optimise bioactive molecules for treating inflammation, diarrhea, and microbial infections.

Education is the most robust devise that aid in advancement of human capital vital for economic development and growth. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating how mainstreaming of early childhood education influences internal efficiency in public primary schools in Embu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the ensuing objectives, namely; To determine the status of physical infrastructure; establish how teacher professional qualifications; examine ways in which provision of Early Childhood instructional materials and explore how pupil-teacher ratio in Early Childhood Education influences internal efficiency in public primary schools. The study adopted a correlational research design to assess the influence of mainstreaming Early Childhood and Education on internal efficiency in Embu County public primary schools. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select respondents for the study. The study used questionnaires, document analysis guide and observation schedule as instruments for collecting data for the purpose of triangulation. Quantitative data was analyzed by utilization of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) by generating descriptive and inferential statistics. While qualitative data was analyzed using themes. Data was presented using percentages, frequencies, standard deviation, mean and inferential statistics. The study findings showed a positive correlation between physical infrastructure in Early Childhood Education and internal efficiency in public primary schools (r = .653, n = 37, p< .05). There is positive correlation between teacher professional qualification in ECE and internal efficiency in public primary schools (r = .672, n = 37, p< .05). There is a positive correlation between ECE instructional materials and internal efficiency in public primary schools (r = .703, n = 37, p< .01). The study concluded that there is a positive correlation amid physical facilities and internal efficiency indicators such as participation rates. There is a positive correlation between teacher professional qualification and internal efficiency, especially promotion rates. There is a positive correlation between instructional materials and internal efficiency indicators of participation rates. The availability of instructional materials positively influences participation rates in Early Childhood Education. The researcher therefore recommends that more physical facilities should be provided by the county government which is mandated to manage Early Childhood Education. The county governments in partnership with parents and headteachers should employ more pre-primary teachers for purposes of successful transition.

HIV/AIDS has caused more death and suffering in the world than any other scourge known in history. In Kenya, as a result of HIV/AIDS, there are many orphaned children languishing in poverty, and are often disinherited by their immediate and extended families. The life expectancy of Kenyans has been considerably reduced by the impact of HIV/AIDS from 55 to 45 years. Despite the miseries caused by the scourge and in spite of the abundant information on prevention of HIV/AIDS many people have not adopted positive sexual behaviour. Thus in order to find lasting solutions to the problem, this study sought to examine Communication and other related factors that could be influencing sexual behaviour among men. Given that the media has over the years taken a leading role in HIV/AIDS Prevention Campaigns, the study sought to establish the extent to which Mass Communication has impacted on behaviour change. Other related factors that fundamentally affect man such as Socio-Economic and demographic factors were also investigated, in order to ascertain whether they affect behaviour change. Communication factors that were found to be influencing HIV/Prevention Campaigns were summed up in the S-M-C-R model as: Source, Message, channel, receiver and the effects of communication whereby it was established that the main source of information on HIV/Preventive Campaigns is the radio. However most respondents preferred discussing HIV preventive messages with peers/friends through interpersonal communication than through the radio. The study sought to unearth how age and other demographic factors influenced behaviour change and established that men aged between 15 and 45 years were very acdve sexually and that majority of them used condoms although not regularly. Then- failure to use condoms as prescribed was interpreted as failure of HIV/preventive campaigns to produce desired results. Hence the justification to identify and establish factors hindering adoption of safe sex as prescribed. Culture was found to be deeply rooted in the lives of many respondents, hence a factor of great influence to behaviour change. ^Some of the men admitted that they practiced polygamy; some confirmed that they consented to wife^nheritance and more still majority' confirmed that they had unprotected multij^k/ sexual relationships because according to their cultural beliefs it was proof of manhood.

The provision of health services is an important aspect of socio~ economic. developent and improving them plays an important part in raising people's standards of living. The provision of adequate health services is, however, far more difficult to realize when the available resources . Ct. cannot cope within rapidly increasing population. When the population is growing very fast, increase~d investment in hospital beds, health personnel and other health units will be required to maintain the existing service ratios. The existing service ratios in terms of health units and health personnel in the country are>however,very 10w~, therefore the services are inadequate. This study investigates the health care delivery system in Kerry a. in the light of health problems and population factor. It also examines the cost of future health care delivery in order to find out the feasibility of meeting these costs. The studYJ accordingly, attempts to propose ways and means,o'f expanding coverage of health services to all parts of the countr~given predominant health problems and scarce resources. The study is organized into five chapters. Chapter One is an introduction, covering problem statement, objectives and significance of the study. It also gives the review of the available literature together with the theoretical framework. Chapter ~wo gives methodology as well as background information to the study. It treats geographical, ecological, demographic and historical factors which are considered important in the analysis of health problems and health services in the country. The study points out some interesting relationships between geographical and ecological factors and the incidence of diseases. It also shows that demoq raph Lc factors do ..in 'ORe way or another affect the health status of the population. The present inadequate pattern of health care , delivery, which apparently needs change, is shown to be an imitation of the colonial system. Chapter ~three presents the health problems in the country and their impact on the population in terms of morbidity and mortality. It is found that the major health problems from which the majority of morbidity and mortality arise are infectious and -- parastic diseases which are generally preventable and controllable. It also examin~s the current health J care delivery system in th~ context of the prevailing (xiv) health problems. It is found that the health services coverage is very low as depicted by the low service ratios in terms of population per physician, per nurse, per clinical officer, per hospital bed. and per health centre. Again, the health care delivery system is hospital based, emphasizing curative services at the expense of preventive services given the predominant diseases. These services take a considerable share of the health budget. Chapter Four examines future requirements of health services in terms of health units and health personnel. It deals with the projection of the health units in rel~tion to service ,f~tios. It also examines the implications of the projected additional units in terms of viability and costs. , The financial implications of the projected additional units when compared with the trends in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) render improvement of health services rather impossible. Finally Chapter Tive summarizes the study and spells out the conclusions. It also describes a suggested alternative strategy for health care provision. -~n alternative approach in the light of scarce resources and the nature of the health ! J (xv) problems is proposed. Primary health care approach which emphasizes preventive measures is proposed as a viable means through which maximum coverage can be achieved with minimized costs. Recommendations for the improvement of the health care delivery system and for future research are also given in this chapter.

Traffic flow analysis is an essential component of a town’s traffic and transport systems since these flows could, and often do, lead to the occurrence of congestion on our roads. Traffic congestion is a growing problem not only in Nyeri, but also in most major towns of Kenya, resulting from rapidly increasing population and the crowding of motorized traffic onto a limited street network. This objective of the research was to perform spatial analysis of traffic flows on the key road links in Nyeri town. On those selected road links the study also established fundamental traffic flow models and derived the flow characteristics associated with traffic operations in Nyeri town, determined the characteristics of a Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) for Nyeri town and assessed whether it is a property of the network infrastructure and control or a property of the travel demand. In this research, MetroCount Vehicle Classifier was used to collect traffic flow intensity and velocity data at seven different locations of the network. The analysis of the data was performed by the MetroCount Traffic Executive MCReport and the desired variables/parameters; speed, volume and density; were compared and their relationships established. From this research, the MFD derived from the data serve as a road network performance indicator, which shows the performance levels of Nyeri town in terms of traffic flow. The research was used to determine the capacity of the road network and the level of congestion in different links thereby determining the adequacy of the network. It was found that the speeds in Nyeri town are moderate and that the volumes of traffic in Nyeri town are low. However, this should not have been case, since when the volume of a network is low; the speeds are expected to be high. From the research, it was found that a MFD exists for Nyeri town; however, it depicted the non-congestion phase of the “full” diagram. The results of this research will lead to better traffic management and improve mobility and accessibility in Nyeri town. Researches in land use components should be investigated to determine how they influence or explain some of the results of this research.

Emergency contraception (EC) is a back-up birth control method that is used within 72 to 120 hours after unprotected or under protected coitus for the prevention of unintended pregnancy or in the event of a known contraceptive failure, such as a condom breaking. Awareness about emergency contraceptive pills does not seem to increase their use in the prevention of unwanted pregnancies in Kenya. Incomplete knowledge on the various factors affecting the use of emergency contraceptive pills for instance ECPs mechanism of action and their side effects leads to misconceptions by users. Limited knowledge of emergency contraceptives and misconceptions impact their use as issues are raised about their safety, the morality of their use, and their effectiveness. Consequent stigmatization further hinders their use. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore the factors influencing the use of emergency contraceptive pills among undergraduate students in Kenya by studying a sample of university students who were residents at the main Campus of University of Nairobi. The research design of this study was descriptive survey research. The target population comprised the residential female students of the University of Nairobi’s main campus whose total was 1976. A sample was drawn from female students who reside in the six women hostels found in the main campus. Simple random sampling was adopted for this study, for a sample size of 322 students derived through the krejcie and morgan sampling technique. The students were selected randomly and equally from the six women hostels. The research adopted a questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Instrument’s validity was checked by use of content validity. The Research instrument’s reliability was done using test -retest technique. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used as a tool for data analysis and the results was presented in form of tables and percentages to make them reader friendly. The qualitative data analysis was done using both content and thematic analysis. The ethical issues related to the study were addressed by maintaining high level confidentiality of the information volunteered by the respondents. The research findings showed that more than two-thirds of students who knew about ECP’s believed that they would use ECP’s after unprotected sexual intercourse and 63% of them agreed to advice friends or relatives to take emergency contraceptives after unprotected sexual intercourse. However, a considerable proportion of respondents reported their fear on using ECP’s and misconceptions. Based on the findings, it was recommended that more information on human sexuality, conception and contraception should be made available to female students once they join college to eliminate misconceptions about contraceptives. In addition, an effort should be made to promote active involvement and participation of male students/partners in the reproductive health services. Parents, the government and non-governmental organisations could become partners in this campaign by playing an active role, rather than be stuck in a cultural quagmire. They could do this through education and participating in campaigns organized by the Department of Health.

This study constitutes a study of the circulation space through the assessment of the statutory requirement, standards and guideline that are put into consideration during the design of the circulation space of residential developments. The study will draw a parallel with the design criteria that are used in other more developed countries. Against this background the study will then evaluate the existing state of the circulation spaces in residential developments in Nairobi with the purpose of ascertaining ^ a. Whether this standard have been adhered to, If the standards that have been adhered to, in existing residential developments are sufficient? Why the standards have not been adhered to, in existing residential developments? The resultant effect of adherence or lack of adherence to the set standards. The study will incorporate data obtained from field observation, dispensing of questionnaire and measurement to draw conclusions and possible recommendations. The residents’ satisfaction and observed statistics will form the yardstick of gauging the suitability of the existing standard.

There is a substantial increase in the use of learning management systems (LMSs) to support e-learning in higher education institutions, particularly in developing countries. This has been done with some measures of success and failure as well. There is evidence from literature that the provision of e-learning faces several quality issues relating to course design, content support, social support, administrative support, course assessment, learner characteristics, instructor characteristics, and institutional factors. It is clear that developing countries still remain behind in the great revolution of e-learning in Higher Education. Accordingly, further investigation into e-learning use in Kenya is required in order to fill in this gap of research, and extend the body of existing literature by highlighting major quality determinants in the application of e-learning for teaching and learning in developing countries. By using a case study of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the study establishes the status of e-learning system quality in Kenya based on these determinants and then concludes with a discussion and recommendation of the constructs and indicators that are required to support qualify teaching and learning practices

Abstract

This study was conducted in semi-arid area of Muvumba valley, Nyagatare District, Eastern Province of Rwanda. This work was formulated with the aim of assessing the effect of supplementary sprinkler irrigation on growth and yield of French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris l.) in semi-arid Muvumba valley, Rwanda. The irrigation treatments were EM (early in the morning), EL (late in the evening) and ELE (both early in the morning and late in the evening) and each treatment was replicated three times in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) for two seasons (Dry-Wet and Wet-Dry seasons). Soil water content was monitored with gravimetric method at 0.30 m depth every time irrigation was undertaken and CROPWAT 8.0 was used to estimate the crop evapotranspiration. The results obtained show that the treatments had significantly different effects on plant height, leaf width, leaf length, leaf area and leaf area index. Reduced water application due to evapotranspiration (ET) from 252.7 mm/dec during Dry-Wet season to 223.8 mm/dec during Wet-Dry season increased water use efficiency (WUE) during Wet-Dry season. The highest water use efficiency of French bean was 1.637 Kg/mm, irrigated early in the morning and late in the evening (ELE) during Wet-Dry season, and the lowest water use efficiency of French bean was 0.969 Kg/mm irrigated once only in the morning during Dry-Wet season. The results obtained also show that French bean growth parameters and yield were significantly different (p < 0.01) and were highest in both the seasons when the crop was irrigated twice a day (ELE) than when irrigated either early in the morning (EM) or late in the evening (LE). In both seasons, the highest yield of French bean was 366.8 Kg/ha with a net income of 98,414 Rwandan Franc equivalent to 103.5 USD. This yield was obtained when the crop was irrigated twice a day (ELE) during the Wet-Dry season. The results also indicated that the Wet-Dry season (yields of total irrigation regimes) had the highest yield (1,338.7 Kg/ha) with the net income of 320,443 RWF (337 USD) than. Irrigating early in the morning and late in the evening (ELE) using supplemental sprinkler irrigation system increased WUE and yield than either irrigation in the morning only (LE) or in the evening only (EM). The study recommends that it is financially viable to irrigate twice a day because it is possible to obtain higher return as compared to irrigating in the morning or in the evening only