http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/16 2026-07-14T08:00:41Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10313 A review on the characterization of silk fibers and their composites after Alkali treatment Sabore, Joel; Makonde, Huxley Mae; Mwasiagi, Josphat Igadwa; Ratanya, Scholastica Nkirote Natural fibers are becoming a more viable alternative as people become more conscious of the negative effects that making and discarding synthetic fibers have on the environment and the rising expense of materials made from petroleum. Among the natural fibers, silk commands considerable respect. Silk is a proteinaceous polymer secretion in the form of a cocoon, consisting of a continuous filament. Researchers are paying more attention to natural fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites because of their availability, low density, biodegradability, and good mechanical qualities. On the material characterization of silk fiber and its composites based on polymer matrices, a significant study has been done. Natural fibers have a low interfacial adhesion between the fiber and the matrix and are hydrophilic by nature. Researchers have employed chemical ways to alter the fiber surface to improve the drawbacks of natural fibers. This review paper focuses on the effect of alkali treatment on the material properties of silk fibers and their composites. Keywords: Characterization, Cocoon, Composite, Fiber Treatment, Medical textile, Silk 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/7078 Cost-reduced engineering of functional biomedical products in Kenya: a case study on electrocautery pens MacNeilage, Finlay; Douglas, Phoebe; Aruma, John This paper provides details on a case study con- ducted into the low-cost production of electrocautery pens in Kenya. Kenya’s healthcare system is burdened by unaffordable biomedical products, tools and devices. As as consequence, preventable diseases and mortality strain the country. Kenya not only has a poorly equipped health care system, but the country is unable to maintain the imported equipment it has as a result of skills shortages in biomedical engineering in the country. The objective of this paper is to determine the feasibility for manufacturing cheaper biomedical engineering devices in Kenya, with a focus on electrocautery pens. Our method is based on an electro-mechanical design, materials selection, manufacture and testing. While our work is still in-progress, this paper elucidates the feasibility for manufacturing electrocautery devices at low-cost, while acknowledging the challenges in sourcing raw materials within the country 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/4882 Modelling reservoir turbidity from medium resolution Sentinel-2A/MSI and Landsat-8/OLI satellite imagery Ouma, Yashon O. This study investigates the use of Sentinel-2A (S2A) and Landsat-8 (L8) OLI for monitoring of turbidity in reservoir waters. Using observed in situ data from 18 sampling stations for Chebara Reservoir in Kenya, the study developed an empirical multivariate regression model for turbidity estimation from atmospherically corrected, band adjusted and spectral resolution standardized S2A and L8 bands. Best results for turbidity estimation were obtained from the regression of in situ data with B2 (blue) and B3 (green) bands as [Rrs(B2/B3)^2+Rrs((B2/B3)] for S2A and [Rrs((B3/B2)] for L8. Both S2A and L8 retrieved turbidity with high and nearly equal accuracy of R^2 > 0.75 from the visible and NIR bands, with nearly similar RMSE of 0.5 NTU and NMAE% being higher for S2A by more than 30% as compared to L8’s average NMAE% of 15%. The study shows that for both S2A and L8 sensors, and the proposed empirical regression algorithm suffices in the rapid and cost-effective quantification of turbidity inland reservoir waters. Using spatial interpolation for the visualization of the correlation between the predicted and observed turbidity, the L8 results were found to be more significant than the turbidity estimations using S2A bands. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/4873 Industrial engineering and operation management in ready-made garment industry ICPTRE 2020 Conference Ocident, Bongomin; Mwasiagi, Josphat Igadwa; Nganyi, Eric Oyondi; Nibikora, Ildephonse • Ready-made garments (RMG) industry • Industrial Engineering (IE) and Operation Management (OM) • The concept and functions of IE and OM • Industrial engineering tools • ABC Classification • Process mapping • Time study • Brainstorming or brainwriting 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z