Healthcare needs of older slum dwellers deserve more attention

Despite carrying a high burden of disease, Gloria Langat points out that older people living in Nairobi’s slums are being overlooked in public health programmes. This post is part of our joint series with the Africa at LSE blog on Social Development Challenges for Africa

Transitions in caregiving and health dynamics of caregivers for people with AIDS: a prospective study of caregivers in Nairobi slums, Kenya

OBJECTIVE: A cohort of older people living in a low-resource setting in Nairobi is followed to understand the transitions in caregiving status and trajectories in health over a 3-year period.METHODS: Three categories of older people comprising 65 AIDS caregivers, 102 Other caregivers and 1,322 noncaregivers identified at baseline were assessed at end-line based on two self-reported health outcome measures, a functionality score and having a severe health problem.RESULTS: A majority of caregivers were still providing care at the end of the study, and or had taken on new care recipients. Compared with noncaregivers, AIDS caregivers reported poor health, with men more likely to report poor health than women. New caregivers also reported poorer health compared with noncaregivers.DISCUSSION: The results indicate improvement in health over time among male caregivers supporting the adaptation model. We recommend timely programs to support caregivers particularly at the onset of caregiving

Resilience in the face of post-election violence in Kenya: The mediating role of social networks on wellbeing among older people in the Korogocho informal settlement, Nairobi

Older people in slum settings are a vulnerable sub-group during crises, yet have received minimal attention in the development discourse. This paper examines the protective role of different types of social networks for older slum dwellers' wellbeing during adversity by investigating the relationship between social networks, the Kenyan 2007/08 post-election violence, and dimensions of wellbeing namely self-rated health, life satisfaction and happiness amongst older people in the Korogocho slum, Nairobi. The analyses are based on conditional change logistic regression models using data from a unique longitudinal survey of the health and wellbeing of older people. The results show that maintaining or increasing formal local networks reduced the detrimental effects of the post-election violence for older people's wellbeing, whilst household environment and informal local and non-local networks did not influence the relationship. Consequently, the paper provides evidence that supporting inclusive community organisations which are accessible to older people can be valuable in promoting the resilience of this population group

A two-base encoded DNA sequence alignment problem in computational biology

The recent introduction of instruments capable of producing millions of DNA sequence reads in a single run is rapidly changing the landscape of genetics. The primary objective of the "sequence alignment" problem is to search for a new algorithm that facilitates the use of two-base encoded data for large-scale re-sequencing projects. This algorithm should be able to perform local sequence alignment as well as error detection and correction in a reliable and systematic manner, enabling the direct comparison of encoded DNA sequence reads to a candidate reference DNA sequence. We will first briefly review two well-known sequence alignment approaches and provide a rudimentary improvement for implementation on parallel systems. Then, we carefully examin a unique sequencing technique known as the SOLiDTM System that can be implemented, and follow by the results from the global and local sequence alignment. In this report, the team presents an explanation of the algorithms for color space sequence data from the high-throughput re-sequencing technology and a theoretical parallel approach to the dynamic programming method for global and local alignment. The combination of the di-base approach and dynamic programming provides a possible viewpoint for large-scale re-sequencing projects. We anticipate the use of distributed computing to be the next-generation engine for large-scale problems like such

Estimating the furrow infiltration characteristic from a single advance point

Management and control of surface irrigation, in particular furrow irrigation, is limited by spatio-temporal soil infiltration variability as well as the high cost and time associated with collecting intensive field data for estimation of the infiltration characteristics. Recent work has proposed scaling the commonly used infiltration function by using a model infiltration curve and a single advance point for every other furrow in an irrigation event. Scaling factors were calculated for a series of furrows at two sites and at four points down the length of the field (0.25 L, 0.5 L, 0.75 L and L). Differences in the value of the scaling factor with distance were found to be a function of the shape of the advance curves. It is concluded that use of points early in the advance results in a substantial loss of accuracy and should be avoided. The scaling factor was also strongly correlated with the furrow-wetted perimeter suggesting that the scaling is an appropriate way of both predicting and accommodating the effect of the hydraulic variability

Development of a botanical plant protection product from Larix by-products to protect grapevine from Plasmopara viticola

Extracts from European Larch (Larix decidua) were shown to be efficient to control grapevine downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) under controlled and field conditions. Larixyl acetate and larixol were identified as the active compounds

The influence of enclosure design on diurnal activity and stereotypic behaviour in captive Malayan Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus)

The effect of enclosure design on diurnal activity and stereotypic behaviour was assessed in 17 adult Malayan Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), kept either in barren indoor enclosures or relatively enriched outdoor enclosures. Locomotion was the most frequent activity observed in the indoor bears, followed by resting. In contrast, conspecifics housed outdoors spent most of the time resting. Eleven forms of stereotypic behaviours were recorded in the bears, with pacing being the most common. The frequency and repertoire of stereotypies were significantly higher in the indoor bears irrespective of enclosure size. Novel forms of locomotor (forward-reverse pacing) and oral (allo-sucking) stereotypies were recorded. Oral stereotypies were predominant in the bears housed indoors, while patrolling was confined to the outdoor bears. Enclosure complexity significantly influences activity budget and occurrence of stereotypic behaviours, highlighting the importance of appropriate enclosure design and enrichment for the welfare of captive bears

Don’t Touch My Hair: Examining the Natural Hair Movement Among Black Women

The natural hair movement among Black women has shown that aesthetic practices and rituals related to hair often serve as embodied methods of resistance for many Black women. These practices also reflect a dimension of their spirituality that is often unrecognized. This paper historically examines political, cultural, and religious meanings of hair within the Black community. The Nazarite vow and the Imago Dei concepts are utilized to understand the biblical and spiritual significance of hair Engaging scripture and theology with daily concerns, such as hair, rituals. Engaging scripture and theology with daily concerns, such as hair, is an important part of the task of public theology, and this article hopes to encourage more attempts to think theologically about how Black women, as well as other Christians, choose to live out their spiritual lives even in rather ordinary events. Our identity is connected to many seemingly ordinary aspects of life, and there is a need to think theologically about everything that connects with our personal and communal identity

Health-Care Providers' Perspectives towards Childhood Cancer Treatment in Kenya

BACKGROUND: This study explored perspectives of health-care providers on childhood cancer treatment in Kenya. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 104 health-care providers in January and February 2013. RESULTS: Seventy six percent of the health-care providers believed cancer to be curable. More doctors than other health-care providers had this positive opinion (p=0.037). The majority of health-care providers (92%) believed that most children with cancer will not be able to finish their treatment due to financial difficulties. They considered that prosperous highly-educated parents adhere better with treatment (88%) and that doctors adhere better with treatment for prosperous highly-educated parents (79%). According to 74% of health-care providers, quality of care is better for prosperous highly-educated parents (74%). Most health-care providers reported giving more explanation (71%), work with greater accuracy (70%) and use less difficult vocabulary (55%) to prosperous more educated families. Only 34% of health-care providers reported they feel more empathy towards patients from prosperous families. Reasons for non-adherence with the protocol according to health-care providers are: family refuses drugs (85%), inadequate supply of drugs at pharmacy (79%), child looks ill (75%), and financial difficulties of parents (69%). CONCLUSIONS: Health-care providers' health beliefs and attitudes differ for patients with families having high versus low socio-economic backgrounds

Integration of Non-Food Biofuel Feedstock Enterprise in Smallholder Farms in Nyeri, Laikipia and Lamu Counties, Kenya

Agricultural farming is a predominant enterprise in developing countries and mainly Africa. This is attributed to land availability, abundant labour from its vast population, favourable climatic conditions and food demand among other factors. Most of the rural households depend on subsistence farming to meet their food requirements with minimal commercialization which mainly target the export market. There is thus need for caution on introduction of another enterprise in the smallholder farms so as not to distort the vulnerable food production enterprise. There is however evidence that most farms are not optimally being utilized. Hence increasing on the portfolio of the farm enterprises on the household level need not necessarily hinder or reduce their food production capabilities. One such additional enterprise could be non-food biofuel feedstock farming which has a dual potential of generating income and as a source of energy in the households. In Kenya, biofuel potential production areas have been zoned taking cognizance of the food production requirements, climatic conditions and biodiversity requirements in the midst of the energy demand and supply situations prevailing in the country. There is however ample evidence that the taking up of biofuel feedstock farming by the smallholder farmers is slow even though the government and a number of non-governmental organizations are deeply involved in its promotion. The study thus seeks to identify the factors within the smallholder farms that hinder the adoption of the Jatropha and Croton biofuel feedstock. A survey was conducted in three agro-ecological zones being Laikipia, Nyeri and Lamu of which a representative random sample of 273 was selected for the study with 136 having the crop in their farms and 137 being the control group. The study used a logistic regression econometric model sorted by crop type to take care of the uniqueness of each crop in terms of their agro-ecological requirements. The factors that influence the integration of croton in the smallholder farms are household size and proximity to the urban centre. Gender of the household head, land size and access to off-farm farm income were the main determinants of farmers’ decision to adoption of Jathropa. Keywords: biodiesel, biofuel, feedstock, integratio