University of Nairobi

About: University of Nairobi is a education organization based out in Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 6702 authors who have published 10777 publications receiving 231294 citations. The organization is also known as: UoN & IAU-020319.

The use of the Akaike Information Criterion in the identification of an optimum flood frequency model.

Abstract: For a long time now, the hydrologist has been faced with the problem of finding which of the many possible probability distribution functions can be used most effectively in flood frequency analyses. This problem has been mainly due to the insufficiency of the conventional goodness-of-fit procedures when used with the typically skewed flood probability distributions. In this study, the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) goodness-of-fit test is used to identify more objectively the optimum model for flood frequency analysis in Kenya from a class of competing models. The class is comprised of (a) seven three-parameter density functions, namely, log-normal, Pearson, log-Pearson, Fisher-Tippet, log-Fisher-Tippet, Walter Boughton and log-Walter Boughton; and (b) two five-parameter density functions, namely, Wakeby and log-Wakeby. The AIC is also used in this study as a method of testing for the existence of outlier peak-flow values in the peak annual data used. A modified version of the chi-square goo...

Foraging behaviour of the giant leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros commersoni)

Abstract: Summary Observations of the giant leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros commersoni) were made in southern Kenya, East Africa. This bat was present in the study area only in March and early April, at the beginning of the March to May rains, and during the November and December rains. Only females were recorded. Food was large beetles of the families Cerambycidae, Elateridae, Scarabeidae and Chrysomelidae. The bats foraged chiefly in riverine vegetation, where they typically used vantage points some 6 m above the ground in acacia trees. Detection of prey at long range from a vantage point, the selection of large prey, precise assessment of the distance and trajectory of the prey, and interception of prey by brief and direct flights tend to optimize the energy return/ unit of time during foraging. The echolocation signals in relation to foraging style are considered. Resume Les observations sur la chauve-souris Hipposideros commersoni ont ete faites au sud du Kenya en Afrique de I'est. Cette chauve-souris n‘etait presente dans la region surveillee qu'en Mars et le debut d'Avril, au commencement de Mars jusqu'aux pluies de Mai, et durant les pluies de Novembre et de Decembre. Seules les femelles furent enregistrees. Leur nourriture consistait de larges coleopteres membre des familles Cerambycidae, Elateridae, Scarabeidae et Chrysomelidae. I1 a ete observe que les chauves-souris fourrageaient principallement sur la vegetation au long des rivieres ou elles utilisaient des points d'avantage typiquement a 6 m au dessus du terrain, dans des acacias. II est deduit que la detection a longue protee et d'un point d'avantage des proies, l'evaluation precise de la distance et du trajectoire de la proie, autant que I'interception de celle-ci par des vols brefs et directes, tendent a hausser au maximum le gain d'energie par unite de temps pendant le fourrage. Les signaux d'echolocation sont aussi consideres en rapport au style de fourrage.

Climatic, socio-economic, and health factors affecting human vulnerability to cholera in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa

Abstract: Cholera epidemics have a recorded history in the eastern Africa region dating to 1836. Cholera is now endemic in the Lake Victoria basin, a region with one of the poorest and fastest growing populations in the world. Analyses of precipitation, temperatures, and hydrological characteristics of selected stations in the Lake Victoria basin show that cholera epidemics are closely associated with El Nino years. Similarly, sustained temperatures high above normal (T(max)) in two consecutive seasons, followed by a slight cooling in the second season, trigger an outbreak of a cholera epidemic. The health and socioeconomic systems that the lake basin communities rely upon are not robust enough to cope with cholera outbreaks, thus rendering them vulnerable to the impact of climate variability and change. Collectively, this report argues that communities living around the Lake Victoria basin are vulnerable to climate-induced cholera that is aggravated by the low socioeconomic status and lack of an adequate health care system. In assessing the communities' adaptive capacity, the report concludes that persistent levels of poverty have made these communities vulnerable to cholera epidemics.