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Utilization of Male Contraceptives in Bungoma County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-11) Simiyu, Edwin Wanjala
Despite Kenya putting in place several policies to promote male participation in family planning, data on male contraceptive use by male respondents is scanty, yet literature indicate that up to 80% utilization of contraceptives among couples is determined by males. Male contraceptive utilization has been reported to be low (<1.5%) in Bungoma County. Coupled with high contraceptive unmet needs among women, it contributes to the high teenage and unplanned or unwanted pregnancies contributing to the high maternal mortality of 382/100,000 live births in the County. Limited male contraceptive choices and utilization calls for more research to facilitate development and rollout of new male contraceptives. This study was to determine utilization of male contraceptives among male adults in Bungoma county. Findings of this study will contribute to the male contraceptive utilization improvement and new contraceptive development databank that will inform future policy and program strategy formulation to accelerate progress towards meeting the sustainable development goal 3.7. This was a Cross-sectional Analytical study that was conducted in Bungoma County targeting males aged 20-69 years in 2022. Sample size was determined by Fisher et al. formula and multistage sampling technique was employed. Key Interview Informant guide and semi structured questionnaire were used. Quantitative data was managed through SPSS version 26 while qualitative data was managed through thematic content analysis. Chi squire and Fishers exact tests were applied for inferential statistics. The study engaged 395 respondents with 99.5% response rate. Majority (80.9%) of males use contraceptives with condom being the most used contraceptive (89.3%) while 5.3% reported to have undergone vasectomy. Commodity related issues (X2 =40.570, p < 0.001), service delivery point (X2 = 82.252, p < 0.001), staff gender preference (X2 = 10.013, p = 0.022) were found to be statistically significant barriers to utilization. There was a significant association between level of knowledge and male contraceptive utilization (X2 = 59.286, p < 0.001). Majority (82.6%) perceived vasectomy as a form of castration, 99% of the males are not aware of any other contraceptive other than condom vasectomy and withdrawal. Majority 89.7% would recommend for condom use while 2.6% would advocate for Vasectomy method. If a new contraceptive would be developed, majority would prefer a pill when required. These findings call for reproductive health stakeholders to invest in targeted health education and sensitization of males on use of surgical vasectomy, continuous health education for service providers to update them on new contraceptives that are under development. There is need for similar research on a larger scale and research on male contraceptive consumer preference to guide development of alternative forms of contraceptives that will be easily embraced by males.
Green Growth Adoption, Practices and Challenges in Selected Textile Industries in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-01) Kawino, Dinah Awino
Green growth practices are crucial for industries as they support the transition to sustainable environmental operations, safeguarding ecological services for future generations. This concept has gained prominence as a strategic framework to integrate sustainability into industrial operations, helping to mitigate pollution and optimize resource utilization. Although environmental sustainability and green growth initiatives have gained significant global attention across various manufacturing sectors limited focus has been directed toward Kenya’s textile industry. The general objective of this study was to examine green growth practices in selected textile manufacturing industry mills in Kenya. The specific objectives were to assess the awareness and implementation of green growth principles in fostering sustainable practices, identify current green initiatives, investigate barriers to their adoption, and evaluate the extent of sustainability reporting within these textile mills. The study adopted the traveling model theory and employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. A sample of 90 respondents was determined using the Nassiuma 2001 sampling formula. A mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative techniques was utilized for data collection. Data analysis, conducted through SPSS version 24, included descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, percentages, and frequencies and inferential analysis Chi-square tests, correlation analyses, and regression models to explore relationships between key variables. Findings revealed that although green growth practices are increasingly recognized in the textile industry, sustainability reporting remains largely confined to internal use and is rarely shared publicly. Major challenges to adopting green growth practices include market limitations and the high costs of eco-friendly technologies and products. Overall, green growth practices contributed to 53% of the observed advancements in sustainability within the textile sector. The study concludes that while the adoption of green growth practices in the textile industry is progressing, it remains constrained by inadequate stakeholder support, weak institutional frameworks, and limited policy alignment. The study recommends strengthening strategic partnerships within the textile sector, establishing Environmental Management Systems and Sustainability Departments, enhancing public sustainability reporting, expanding markets for locally produced textiles, and implementing supportive government policies to foster a comprehensive and sustainable transition toward green growth.
The Challenges of Past Tense Learning Among High School Students of French Foreign Language in Tanzania
(Kenyatta University, 2025-12) Mgeni, Dietram Efrem
Reports from the National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) on the performance of high school students in French final exams (2019 to 2022), reveal that French Foreign Language learners experience difficulties related to the use of the French tenses, especially past tense (passé composé and imparfait). As we cannot address all challenges in this single research, we focused much on passé composé than imparfait. According to several studies, the majority of French Foreign Language learners cannot apparently use French Past tense (passé composé and imparfait). Based on these NECTA reports, our study aimed at identifying the tense related challenges faced by French Foreign Language learners in Tanzania. The hypothetical argument lies on the fact that, the differences between Swahili-French tenses are the source of difficulties in learning French foreign Language. In Tanzania, from the early childhood, learners acquire their first language L1 (Swahili/vernacular), then English after attending school classes. At fairly advanced age, some learn French Foreign Language (contrary to what critical age theory holds). How can the learners effectively acquire new foreign language aspects they have never known in their prior language (Swahili)? In order to propose practical solutions to reduce academic failure rate and improve foreign language teaching practices in Tanzania, we collected data from teachers and learners of Muyovozi, Milambo, Korogwe, Makongo and Zanaki high schools (these are the only high schools with French language in Tanzania at a time of this research). We used interviews, tests and questionnaires, which were given to both high school students as well as their teachers. The data collected were subjected to analysis through the theory of error analysis, though we had a little discussion on contrastive analysis. The research used purposive and convenience sampling. Regarding the analysis, we included other common tenses, the copies of texts administered to the learners with the use of the past tense, French textbooks used in the educational system of Tanzania and the questionnaire. It is our hope that the results and recommendations provided based on data analysis of this study is useful to the French learners, teachers, government officials and authors of French foreign language teaching materials in Tanzania.
Isolation and Characterization of L-Asparaginase Producing Endophytic Fungi Inhabiting Prunus africana and Periploca linearifolia
(Kenyatta University, 2025-09) Cheruiyot, Dennis Kipngenoh
The clinical use of L-Asparaginase derived from bacterial sources has been hindered by various challenges, including toxicity and repression. This has prompted the exploration of alternative sources, particularly eukaryotic microorganisms like fungi, in an effort to enhance the safety and effectiveness of therapeutic ASNase. In this study, endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plants, Periploca linearifolia (Apocynacease family) and Prunus africana (Rosaceae family), were investigated for their potential as a source of novel ASNase for therapeutic applications. These isolates were screened for L-Asparaginase production using the plate assay method on modified Czapex dots agar medium. L-Asparaginase activity of the fungal endophytes was determined using the nesslerization method. Identification of the fungal endophytes was performed using morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding with ITS sequencing, followed by BLAST analysis. Additionally, a phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA version X software. Twenty-four percent of the fungal endophytes exhibited positive reaction for L-ASNase activity and were identified as Penicillium ubiquetum, Penicillium pancosmium, Phoma sp, Penicillium. crustosum, Fusarium sporotrichioides, Cercospora canescens, Penicillium commune, septoria sp, Fusarium solani, and Colletotrichum sydowii. The fungal endophytes exhibited significant variation in production of L-asparaginase under the inflence of time of incubation and pH. It was observed that the fungal endophytes showed L-asparaginase activity at different day of incubation with Penicillium ubiquetum (2.63±0.47UI/mL), Penicillium pancosmium (1.44±0.1UI/mL), Phoma sp (2.6±0.47UI/mL), Penicillium crustosum (3.80±0.37 UI/mL), Penicillium commune (2.52±0.29 UI/mL), Fusarium sporotrichioides (3.47±0.24 UI/mL), Cercospora canescen (2.24±0.12 UI/mL) showed highest enzyme activity on the 6th day of incubation. Septoria sp and Colletotrichum sydowii exhibited best L-asparaginase activity of 12.6±0.81UI/mL and 4.06±0.23 UI/mL on the 9th day of incubation, respectively. While Fusarium solani showed atmost L-asparaginase activity of 12.4±1.12 UI/mL on the 12th day of incubation. In addition, the ten identified fungal endophytes records the highest activity at pH range 5.0-6.0 with Fusarium solani recording the highest enzyme activity of (6.14±0.01 UI/mL) at pH 6.0. The study revealed that fungal endophytes inhabiting plants with medicinal properties are potential source of L-Asparaginase. Among the fungal isolates, Fusarium solani and Septoria sp. showed the highest ASNase activity under optimized conditions (pH 5-6, incubation 9-12 days), indicating their potential as safer alternative to bacterial L-Asparaginase for anticancer therapy.
Bioethanol Production from Dilute Acid-Pretreated Rice and Sorghum Biomass via Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Fermentation
(Kenyatta University, 2025-09) Nyang’au, Agatha Kemunto
The world has a massive energy need, and bioethanol is a viable clean energy substitute for the
fast-depleting fossil fuel supply. Large volumes of crop leftovers generated and left in the field
for burning can be used in an affordable, dependable, and steady way thanks to production of
bioethanol from lignocellulose biomass. However, because of the variations in lignocellulosic
biomass, biochemical composition and lignin’s recalcitrance, producing ethanol from it is still
difficult. This study evaluated the effects of pre-treating selected agro wastes with dilute acid
on ethanol yields via microbial hydrolysis and fermentation. Nerica husk (NH), Nerica straw
(NS), Basmati 370 husk (BH), Basmati 370 straw (BS), sorghum from KALRO plot 8 (SP08)
and Sorghum from KALRO plot 17 (SP17) were used in this study. Biomass samples were
dried to a constant moisture content, milled into fine powder, and treated at 121oC for 60 min
with sulphuric acid (1.2%(w/w) or 2.25%(w/w) at a solid to liquid ratio of 1:10. This was
followed by enzyme hydrolysis using cellulase from Aspergillus niger at 5% substrate loading.
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a reverse phase column and refractive
index detector was used to evaluate the resultant sugars. The cellulase hydrolysed substrate
solution was fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the alcohol production was
measured by HPLC. An analysis of the statistics was done through the analysis of variance
(ANOVA), considering a 95% confidence level using SPSS software. Simple sugars including
glucose, sucrose, maltose, and specific sugars such as xylose, arabinose, and mannose were
detected, with glucose being the sugar that was found to be most prevalent in all samples.
Glucose yields were consistently higher in samples pre-treated with 2.25%(w/w) dilute
sulphuric acid than in biomass samples pre-treated with 1.2%(w/w) sulphuric acid, which
yielded between 12.8%(w/v) and 26.7%(w/v) glucose across all biomass samples. In contrast,
cellulase hydrolysis after 2.25%(w/w) acid pre-treatment, yielded 32.3%(w/w), 30.6%(w/w),
31.6%(w/w), 30.3%(w/w), 29.3%(w/w), and 13.4%(w/w) glucose from NH, NS, BH, BS,
SP08, and SP17 samples, respectively. Biomass samples pre-treated with 2.25%w/w dilute acid
and subjected to microbial fermentation produced ethanol ranging from 5.8%(v/v) to
8.9%(v/v). These findings demonstrate that 2.25%(w/w) sulphuric acid pre-treatment
significantly enhances the release of fermentable sugars, particularly glucose from selected
agro-wastes, supporting their potential as viable low-cost feedstocks for sustainable bioethanol
production in Kenya