http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/2299 2026-04-05T17:59:35Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6655 Comparative histoquatitative effects of lamotrigine and levetiracetam on fetal memory circuitry structurers in albino rats Mwangi, Ann W Memory, a key component of the human brain, entails the cognitive ability to encode, store, and retrieve information, that is fundamental for survival. Memory is stored in different circuitry structurers in the brain. On the other hand, Lamotrigine (LAM) and levetiracetam (LEV) are anticonvulsant medicines currently being prescribed as first line in the management of maternal conditions like unipolar depression, acute bi-polar depression, schizophrenia, fibromyalgia, among others. Use of these two medicines is guided by past literature on their efficacy and torrelability. Despite their current use, data on their comparative histoquatitative outcomes on fetal memory circuitry structurers upon their maternal exposure remains equivocal, hence the basis of this study. Data is aimed at establishing which among the two medicines is safer when used prenatally in management of maternal conditions. A post-test only with control experimental design was adopted in the study. 30 sexually mature female albino rats 250+30grams were used as experimental models. They were categorized as 3 rats for the control group and 27 rats for both LAM and LEV treatment groups. Collected data was coded in excel spreadsheets, and analysis was done using SPSS version 25. The findings of the study were expressed as mean+ standard error of mean (SEM). Values with P<0.05 were considered to have a statistical significantly difference. The comparative findings of the study delineated statistically significant reduction in means of total fetal brain volume, as well as the volume densities of memory circuitry structurers that includes; prefrontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampal gyrus, subiculum and dentate gyrus for both lamotrigine and levetiracetam. The mean reduction was observed to depict a time and dose dependency, with the most reduction being more marked in high dosages administered during the first trimester. Lamotrigine was associated with deleterious effects than levetiracetam. The study recommends further studies with animals close to human species. Journal of Agriculture Science & Technology 2025-04-03T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6654 Application of regression techniques to capture value influences for mass valuation of residential property: A case study of two residential estates in Nairobi Ochieng, Bernard This research project sets out to apply statistical techniques in the valuation of land and properties through various models. It focused on comparing predictive accuracies of mass valuation models with a dataset of 500 single-family property transactions in two neighbourhoods within Nairobi city. There are a number of statistical models that are used for mass valuation of properties. The first step in this study was to gather data on property sales used in the development of a base model and proposed model. Each of the property units in the database were geocoded and vectorized. The data was screened and visualized to investigate the nature of the potential association between the response, Y, and predictor variables, X. The predictor variables were tested for multicollinearity and a regression model developed based on hypothesized relationships. The model was tested for lack of fit by ordering the residuals using a residual scatterplots and histograms. Finally, the fitness statistics were reviewed by looking at the spread of the plot and evaluating observed values around the regression line, and examining how accurate the independent variables are in predicting the dependent variables. The results revealed an overall level of 0.96 for Komarock and 0.98 for Runda estate respectively. One measure of how well the model predicts is to compute the correlation between the actual values in the holdout sample and the predicted values. The correlation should be high when the model is valid. The correlation between the assessed value and the actual selling price is 0.71 and 0.98 for Komarock and Runda respectively. Determining the quality of the valuation output also requires measuring uniformity: uniformity between groups of properties and uniformity within groups (Abidoye, Huang, Amidu, & Javad, 2021). The coefficient of dispersion (COD) is the most used measure of valuation uniformity. The results show a COD of 18% and 10% for Komarock and Runda respectively. Journal of Agriculture Science & Technology 2025-04-03T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6653 Evaluation of quality and shelf life of fresh tomatoes stored in a pumice padded evaporative cooler with a roof pond Ngotho, Elias W. The world is faced by myriad challenges like climate change and ever-increasing population making the achievement of global food security a challenge. Although highly perishable, tomatoes are popular food commodity. Farmers have to sell the commodity soon after harvest for fear of deterioration. For longer storage, tomatoes require an environment with low temperature and high relative humidity. Cooling systems such as refrigeration are not accessible to most small-scale farmers because they require connection to the grid. In this study, a solar powered pumice evaporative cooler was developed and evaluated for the storage of ripe tomatoes. The system adopted the principle of evaporative cooling and comprised of walls filled with pumice coupled with a pond filled with water on the roof and below the storage space. This design allowed water to drip from an elevated tank through the pumice walls and drain into the reservoir below the storage space before recirculation using a solar powered pump. Mature tomatoes c.v Ann F1 were harvested at the turning stage and stored both in the cooler (treatment) and under ambient conditions (control). Quality attributes namely pH, total soluble solids (TSS), firmness, colour and shelf life were evaluated on a seven-day interval for 28 days. Results showed a significant (p≤0.05) difference for pH, TSS, and firmness between samples stored in the cooler and control. However, there was no significant (p>0.05) difference in the colour (hue angle) for the fruits under the treatment and control. Compared to the control, the developed solar powered storage system increased the shelf life of tomatoes from 14 days to 28 days. The results from this study indicate that the solar powered pumice evaporative cooler preserves the quality of tomatoes. This enables the farmers to get better returns as they do not have to sell their harvest at low prices for fear of deterioration. Journal of Agriculture Science & Technology 2025-04-03T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6652 A plant-based system for evaluating the health of wetlands in Mathioya watershed, Murang’a County, Kenya. Oginga, Movin O. Wetlands in Mathioya watershed have been undergoing degradation over the past decades. This can be attributed to human activities such as farming within the wetlands, washing of cars in wetlands, and harvesting/clearing of wetland vegetation. Such activities are likely to impact on the health of the wetlands, which could lead to an overall loss of wetland function and ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to assess the health status of wetlands in Mathioya watershed, Murang’a County. Plant metrics and water quality parameters were used to develop the Plant Index of Biotic Integrity (PIBI). The PIBI was then used to evaluate the health of the wetlands in response to anthropogenic disturbance. The plant metrics selected to be included in the final PIBI include: number of tolerant species, sensitive species, exotic species and shrub species. A trisect interquartile method was then used to assign values to the core metrics. Scores from the selected four metrics were summed to come up with the final PIBI. The metric scores ranged between 4 and 20, with 4 being very poor health and 20 very good health. From the results, only two wetlands were of moderate health, six were of poor health, and one wetland was of very poor health. The average score shows that wetlands in Mathioya watershed are generally of poor health. This study concludes that the majority of the wetlands (6 out of 9) were of poor health, wetlands in areas with relatively low human activities were of better health. Therefore, a restoration project should be initiated to restore the ecological integrity of the wetlands. Journal of Agriculture Science & Technology 2025-04-03T00:00:00Z