Design of an axial-flux generator for a small-scale wind electrolysis plant

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves [124]-128).The main objective of this study is the selection and design of a wind generator to meet electrolyser requirements. These are the hydrogen production rate, the power requirements and the operating temperature. This requires the analysis of the load, sizing and characterizing of an electrolyser and finally, the design of a wind generator that meets electrolyser requirements. A hybrid system that combines the use of hydrogen as an efficient form of energy storage, and the growing renewable energy (RE) industry is discussed in detail

A Contextual Meaning Mislay in Translation: A Case of Hedges in Presidential Political Speeches in Kenya

This study seeks to highlight the phenomenon of pragmatic mislay in translation of hedges in presidential political speeches from English to Kiswahili and Vice versa. Hedges are considered an additional ingredient in communication, making the interlocutor to pass his or her message either elaborately or implicitly Lakoff, (1973). Information may pragmatically be expressed in an explicit or implicit manner to amplify or to conceal a specific message through usage of hedging devices which are not forthrightly detectable in a statement. This pragmatic function in a statement is bound to be missed out in translation leading to pragmatic mislay on the speeches owing to the fact that, hedging is a political strategy of communication for myriads of reasons. This is detectable in culture specific terms found in the proverbs often used by the politicians in their public addresses to convince and alter the thinking process of a community and sway them to vote in a certain direction. The study focused on cultural-specific terms in certain proverbs used by politicians and their translatability as hedging devices. Kiswahili and English are the official languages and as such used interchangeably by politicians in political rallies. Due to their polygramatic nature, the hedging devices in the political language are a problem in translation. This would establish the connecting factor between pragmatics and translation

To Translate or Not to Translate Interjections as Hedges: A Case Study of Kenya’s Political Speeches

This paper investigates the occurrence of interjections as hedges in Kenya\u27s presidential political speeches and their translatability from English into Kiswahili from a skopos based perspective. These hedges have a significant pragmatic functionality that cannot be ignored even in translation. The paper explores the usage of this kind of a hedge in the presidential political speeches in Kenya and what effect arises from its translatability or non-translatability. As a communicative feature that carries an indirect meaning, hedges play a significant role in message delivery, a functionality that makes them important in a discussion. As opined by Lakoff (1972), hedges’ functionality is beyond the fuzzy notion, carrying an important meaning that would have otherwise not possible to deliver it devoid of these hedges. Pragmatically, this linguistic feature has been referred to in different terms such as shields, indeterminants and expression of politeness (Halliday 1994, Levinson 2000). In this regard, their functionality is a necessary ingredient in communication process which cannot be ignored. This research has been carried out in reference to Skopo’s theory whose tenetes of purpose, optimality, faithfulness and cohesion looks at the usage of these words and their transferability from English to Kiswahili in Kenyan’s political speeches since their presence in a communication process generally is and often has been viewed as nuisance. Twenty speeches from Kenya’s presidential candidates in 2013 and 2017 together with their running mates were transcribed. The units of meaning with interjections were identified and subjected to translation from English into Kiswahili. It was found that translation strategies largely used ware literal translation, omission and domestication although other approaches were still available in rendition of the required meaning

The pricing of liquidity risk: Evidence from the Nigerian and South African stock markets

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor in Business Science Financial Economics at Strathmore UniversityThis study examines whether an illiquidity premium is priced into the return process of equities. Specifically, the paper uses a liquidity augmented Fama and French (2015) five-factor model to test whether liquidity effects are captured in stock returns. The illiquidity premium is captured using the IML (illiquid minus liquid) factor which represents a compensating premium investors require to hold less liquid stocks as compared to more liquid stocks. The model constructed was tested on the Nigerian and South African stock markets over an analysis horizon of 2013-2018 with a greater focus on the Nigerian Stock exchange as it faces considerable liquidity challenges. Results from the analysis show that liquidity is indeed priced in asset returns with an average annual illiquidity premium of 2.15% for Nigeria and 0.136% for South Africa. The coefficients on the liquidity factor also generally proved significant in explaining asset returns thus confirming the main hypothesis of this study. The presence of an illiquidity premium increases the cost of equity for the aforementioned markets hence certain policies that may be implemented to spur liquidity in these markets include increasing free float requirements for listed companies and improving trading systems to ensure efficiency and quick execution of trades

HIGH FLUX DENSITY ROTATIONAL CORE LOSS MEASUREMENTS

Energy conversion processes involve losses. Specifically core losses, which are a result of the magnetization process in cored electrical energy conversion and storage devices. The cores are made of soft ferromagnetic materials that are easily magnetized and demagnetized. These soft magnetic cores, allow a reduction in size, higher energy storage density, and a reduction in magnetizing current, when compared to non-cored devices. The characterization of soft ferromagnetic materials is traditionally done under unidirectional pulsating fields, which is sufficient for single-phase transformers and inductors, where the cores are under pulsating fields. However, T-joints of three phase transformers and teeth-roots of rotating machine stator cores are exposed to two-dimensional rotational fields of higher core loss. Pulsating measurements are therefore insufficient in the characterization of soft ferromagnetic materials used in rotating electrical machines or in three phase transformers. In two-dimensional fields, the magnetization direction changes with time, tracing a flux density locus. This requires the measurement of tangential magnetic field and flux density components, hence the associated loss. This study proposes a two-dimensional rotational core loss tester for high flux density measurements up to about 2 T, at 60 Hz. Its frequency measurement range is from 60 Hz to 1 kHz. The initial sizing was done analytically, then implemented in three-dimensional finite element analysis, prototyped and experiments performed to verify its capability. It was validated by testing two 0.35 mm and 0.65 mm thick samples. Very high flux densities in the range of 2 T at 60 Hz were achieved in both samples. For the thinner sample, flux densities of 1.8 T and 1.6 T were measured at 400 Hz and 1 kHz, respectively, while for the thicker one, the range reduced to 1.7 T and 1.4 T, at 400 Hz and 1 kHz, respectively. The magnetizer also reproduced non-sinusoidal flux density waveforms, for flux densities less than or equal to 1.0 T, without any waveform control. The proposed rotational core loss setup will find application in the characterization of electrical steels, and generation of pulsating and rotational core loss data. This data can then be applied in core loss models, uprating of megawatt (MW) rated machines, transient and hotspots analysis, and in the design of higher power density machines, such as high-speed machines

Complete genome sequences of dengue virus type 2 strains from Kilifi, Kenya

Dengue infection remains poorly characterized in Africa and little is known regarding its associated viral genetic diversity. Here, we report dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) sequence data from 10 clinical samples, including 5 complete genome sequences of the cosmopolitan genotype, obtained from febrile adults seeking outpatient care in coastal Kenya

Is Congruence a Predictor of Satisfaction with the Choice of Degree Program among University Students in Kenya

A lot of studies carried out in Kenya have examined the factors that lead to a student’s choice of degree program with most reports suggesting that parents and peers have significant influence. The extent to which the personal attributes lead to the choice of degree program has not been examined. This study examined congruence as a predictor of satisfaction with the choice of degree program. The Self Directed Search 4th Edition questionnaire by (Rosen, Holmberg, & Holland, 1994) and a satisfaction scale were used to gather information. The results indicated that majority of the students were satisfied with their choice of degree program. Congruence was found to be weak predictor of the choice of degree program (r=.04, n = 389, .433), and significantly negatively correlated with satisfaction with the degree program (r=-.099, n=389, p=.051). The study concluded that congruence is a predictor of choice of the degree program but not a strong predictor of satisfaction. Key words: Congruence, Satisfaction, and Choice of degree program

Isolation and Cryopreservation of Trypanosomes and their Vectors for Research and Development in Resource‐ Constrained Settings

Biorepositories for biological samples have increasingly become very important in supporting biomedical research since the 1990s. The Kenya Trypanosomiasis Research Institute Cryo‐bank for trypanosomes and their vectors was established in the 1970s with the aim of providing research materials to scientists. Over 2000 trypanosome isolates have been collected and stored in dewars under liquid nitrogen. Recent collections include tsetse flies—vectors of human and animal trypanosomiasis. Challenges encountered include distances to remote field sites and impassable roads and the cost of collection, preparation, storage, and maintenance under resource‐constrained settings. Under these settings, the challenges can be overcome through strategic leadership that ensures availability and sustainability of resources, appropriate institutional policies, adoption of multidisciplinary approach where appropriate, working with different sectors such as human health, livestock, and wildlife, and environmental conservation in order to leverage on capacities in these sectors, and acknowledging the role of communities from which materials are collected

Socio-Demographic, Nutritional and Adherence as Determinants of Nevirapine Plasma Concentration among HIV-1 Patients from Two Geographically Defined Regions of Kenya

Background: Data are skewed on the role of Socio-demographic, nutritional and adherence related factors on the influence of nevirapine plasma concentrations among Kenyan population. This study rigorously determined these three factors on nevirapine plasma concentrations among HIV patients receiving HIV treatment in two regions known for high prevalence of HIV and long duration of ART uptake.Methods: Blood samples were collected from 377 consenting HIV adult patients receiving an NVP-based first-line ART regimen. A detailed sociodemographic questionnaire was administered. NVP plasma concentration was measured by liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: The majority (59.2%) of the patients were female, 72.2% were from western Kenya (predominantly Nilotic speaking community). The patients’ mean age was 41.6 (SD ± 11.5) years and the mean duration of ART was 5.1 (SD ± 4.8) years. The median BMI of the patients was 25 kg/m2 (IQR = 22.2 - 28.7 kg/m2). The majority 81.2% were receiving 3TC/NVP/TDF ART regimen, 30% had changed their initial ART regimen with 54.4% reporting missing taking current ARVs. Overall NVP plasma levels ranged from 4-44207 ng/mL (median 6213 ng/mL, IQR 3097–8606.5 ng/mL). There were 105 (25.5%) participants with NVP levels of <3100 ng/mL, associated with poor viral suppression. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed region of origin (adjusted β 976, 95% CI, 183.2 to 1768.82; p = 0.016), gender (adjusted β 670, 95% CI, 293.6 to 1634.2; p = 0.047), education level (adjusted β -39.0779, 95% CI, -39.07 to 1085.7; p = 0.068), initial ART regimen type (adjusted β = -548.1, 95% C = -904.2 to -192; p =0.003) and ARV uptake in the past 30 days (adjusted β = -1109, 95% C = -2135 to -83; p =0.034) remained independently associated with NVP plasma levels.Conclusion: NVP plasma concentration is highly heterogenous among Kenyan population with a significant proportion of patients reporting levels of <3100 ng/ml, correlated with poor viral suppression. The host pharmacoecologic factors, such as gender, age, weight, education level, region of origin (ethnicity), ART regimen type and adherence, are key in influencing NVP plasma concentration. Taking these factors into consideration, HIV treatment may be personalized to achieve optimal treatment success. Keywords: Nevirapine plasma concentration, host pharmacoecologic factors, HIV-1 patients in Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/81-05 Publication date:October 31st 202

Effect of Sequence of Infection of Maize with Viruses Causing Maize Lethal Necrosis on Disease Development

Maize is the main staple food crop in Kenya. However, its production is constrained by maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease, a result of dual infection of maize plants with Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and a potyvirus Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV). In the field, infection by the two viruses is independent rather than occurring simultaneously since MCMV and SCMV are transmitted by different vectors. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of sequence of infection of maize by the two viruses causing MLN disease in the greenhouse. Two susceptible maize hybrids (DUMA 43 and H614D) were each infected with either of the two viruses first and later inoculated with the second virus. The plants were assessed for disease development weekly over a period of 2 months. Symptoms were significantly (p=0.05) more severe in maize plants initially infected with MCMV followed by SCMV, resulting in rapid death of plants compared to plants infected with SCMV followed by MCMV. The results indicate that severity of symptoms is influenced by the sequence of infection of maize plants with the causal agents of MLN disease. More remarkable was the synergism observed in maize plants pre-inoculated with SCMV followed by MCMV that had a slow manifestation of MLN disease symptoms. The results suggest that initial infection by SCMV may result in maize plants developing some levels of resistance resulting in initial suppression of MCMV infection. This study contributes to the understanding of resistance mechanisms exhibited by the plants during MLN disease development. Keywords: Maize, MCMV, SCMV, Synergism, Sequence of infection DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-8-06 Publication date: April 30th 201