Academic Research Papers
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/12
Academic Research Papers2024-03-29T12:39:27ZInterleukin 10 and clustering of metabolic syndrome components in pediatrics.
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/386
Interleukin 10 and clustering of metabolic syndrome components in pediatrics.
Interleukin 10 (lL-10) has multifaceted anti-inflammatory properties that are known to regulate insulin sensitivity and atherosclerotic development. However, studies in children are limited and have yielded
Conflicting results. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether changes in this circulating anti-inflammatory
cytokine is a marker for metabolic syndrome.
Materials and methods This cross-sectional study involved children and young adolescents from eight elementary schools and two junior high schools located in Taipei end New Taipei City. A total of 553 children ages
8, 11 and 13 years old were included in the analysis. Parameters for obesity, anti- and pro-inflammatory
cytokines, and metabolic risk profiles were evaluated.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZLow-Cost Non-Contact Forest Inventory: A Case Study of Kieni Forest in Kenya
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/8487
Low-Cost Non-Contact Forest Inventory: A Case Study of Kieni Forest in Kenya
Kiplimo, Cedric; Maina, Ciira wa; Okal, Billy
Forests are a vital source of food, fuel, and medicine and play a crucial role in climate
change mitigation. Strategic and policy decisions on forest management and conservation require
accurate and up-to-date information on available forest resources. Forest inventory data such as
tree parameters, heights, and crown diameters must be collected and analysed to monitor forests
effectively. Traditional manual techniques are slow and labour-intensive, requiring additional personnel,
while existing non-contact methods are costly, computationally intensive, or less accurate.
Kenya plans to increase its forest cover to 30% by 2032 and establish a national forest monitoring
system. Building capacity in forest monitoring through innovative field data collection technologies
is encouraged to match the pace of increase in forest cover. This study explored the applicability of
low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry in a recently reforested
stand in Kieni Forest, Kenya. A custom-built stereo camera was used to capture images of 251 trees in
the study area from which the tree heights and crown diameters were successfully extracted quickly
and with high accuracy. The results imply that stereoscopic photogrammetry is an accurate and
reliable method that can support the national forest monitoring system and REDD+ implementation.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZA hybrid neural network model based on transfer learning for Arabic sentiment analysis of customer satisfaction
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/8486
A hybrid neural network model based on transfer learning for Arabic sentiment analysis of customer satisfaction
Bakhit, Duha Mohamed Adam; Nderu, Lawrence; Ngunyi, Antony
Sentiment analysis, a method used to classify textual content into positive, negative,
or neutral sentiments, is commonly applied to data from social media
platforms. Arabic, an official language of the United Nations, presents unique
challenges for sentiment analysis due to its complex morphology and dialectal
diversity. Compared to English, research on Arabic sentiment analysis is
relatively scarce. Transfer learning, which applies the knowledge learned from
one domain to another, can address the limitations of training time and computational
resources. However, the development of transfer learning for Arabic
sentiment analysis is still underdeveloped. In this study, we develop a
new hybrid model, RNN-BiLSTM, which merges recurrent neural networks
(RNN) and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) networks. We used
Arabic bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (AraBERT), a
state-of-the-art Arabic language pre-trained transformer-based model, to generate
word-embedding vectors. The RNN-BiLSTM model integrates the strengths
of RNN and BiLSTM, including the ability to learn sequential dependencies
and bidirectional context. We trained the RNN-BiLSTM model on the source
domain, specifically the Arabic reviews dataset (ARD). The RNN-BiLSTMmodel
outperforms the RNN and BiLSTM models with default parameters, achieving
an accuracy of 95.75%. We further applied transfer learning to the RNN-BiLSTM
model by fine-tuning its parameters using random search. We compared the
performance of the fine-tuned RNN-BiLSTMmodel with the RNN and BiLSTM
models on two target domain datasets: ASTD and Aracust. The results showed
that the fine-tuned RNN-BiLSTM model is more effective for transfer learning,
achieving an accuracy of 95.44% and 96.19% on the ASTD and Aracust datasets,
respectively.
2024-02-01T00:00:00ZInfluence of Taekwondo Training as a Martial Art Sport on Enhancing Mental Wellness of Security Officers in Kenya
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/8485
Influence of Taekwondo Training as a Martial Art Sport on Enhancing Mental Wellness of Security Officers in Kenya
Gathoni, Benson; Munayi, Simon; Kimatai, Rotich Jonathan; Njuno, Antony Ndamberi
Purpose: The purpose of this research was to investigate whether or not training in taekwondo as
a martial art sport has a positive impact on the mental health of Kenyan security officers.
Methodology: The study used a desk top approach where literature was sought from different
sources. The research was carried out with consideration given to previous theoretical literature,
both published and unpublished.
Findings: Problems with mental wellness is a serious societal and work related issue that has
numerous ramifications, including far-reaching social and economic impact in Kenyan security
officers. However, a significant number of security officers do not seek help when they are
experiencing issues with their mental wellness. Research in this area is scant, but there are
suggestions that training in Taekwondo as martial arts sport may be an effective sports-based
intervention for mental wellness, and that it may provide an affordable alternative to psychological
therapy to security officers both public and private.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Uncertainty regarding the validity and
trustworthiness of previous research is unfortunately caused by the limited number of studies that
are relevant to the topic at hand, in addition to other methodological issues.
2024-03-01T00:00:00Z