This study analyses the performance properties of plastic-sand bricks through experimental work on the use of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and river sand in the first stage using six different sand: plastic ratios (60s:40p; 65s:35p; 70s:30p; 75s:25p; 80s:20p; 85s:15p) and in the second stage the effects of adding 1%, 5%, and 10% of Kaolin Clay. Five different tests were conducted to assess the bricks’ resistance to environ...

Invasive alien species (IAS) rank among the most significant drivers of species extinction and ecosystem degradation resulting in significant impacts on socio-economic development. The recent exponential spread of IAS in most of Africa is attributed to poor border biosecurity due to porous borders that have failed to prevent initial introductions. In addition, countries lack adequate information about potential invasions and h...

The bag-mediated filtration system (BMFS) was developed to facilitate poliovirus (PV) environmental surveillance, a supplement to acute flaccid paralysis surveillance in PV eradication efforts. From April to September 2015, environmental samples were collected from four sites in Nairobi, Kenya, and processed using two collection/concentration methodologies: BMFS (> 3 L filtered) and grab sample (1 L collected; 0.5 L concentrat...

Hybridization and introgression can have important consequences for the evolution, ecology and epidemiology of pathogenic organisms. We examined the dynamics of hybridization between a trematode parasite of humans, Schistosoma mansoni , and its sister species, S. rodhaini , a rodent parasite, in a natural hybrid zone in western Kenya. Using microsatellite markers, rDNA and mtDNA, we showed that hybrids between the two species...