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Containment Studies of Transgenic Mosquitoes in Disease Endemic Countries: The Broad Concept of Facilities Readiness
Full text linkThis study was focused on Genetic strategies for large scale pest or vector control using modified insects are not yet operational in Africa, and currently rely on import of the modified strains to begin preliminary, contained studies.Genetic strategies for large scale pest or vector control using modified insects are not yet operational in Africa, and currently rely on import of the modified strains to begin preliminary, contained studies. Early involvement of research teams from participating countries is crucial to evaluate candidate field interventions. Following the recommended phased approach for novel strategies, evaluation should begin with studies in containment facilities. Experiences to prepare facilities and build international teams for research on transgenic mosquitoes revealed some important organizing themes underlying the concept of ‘‘facilities readiness,’’ or the point at which studies in containment may proceed, in sub-Saharan African settings. First, ‘‘compliance’’ for research with novel or non-native living organisms was defined as the fulfillment of all legislative and regulatory requirements. This is not limited to regulations regarding use of transgenic organisms. Second, the concept of
‘‘colony utility’’ was related to the characteristics of laboratory colonies being produced so that results of studies may be validated across time, sites, and strains or technologies; so that the appropriate candidate strains are moved forward toward field studies. Third, the importance of achieving ‘‘defensible science’’ was recognized, including that study conclusions can be traced back to evidence, covering the concerns of various stakeholders over the long term. This, combined with good stewardship of resources and appropriate funding, covers a diverse set of criteria for declaring when ‘‘facilities readiness’’ has been attained. It is proposed that, despite the additional demands on time and resources, only with the balance of and rigorous achievement of each of these organizing themes can collaborative research into novel strategies in vector or pest control reliably progress past initial containment studie
Performance of Solanum aethiopicum Shum group accessions under repetitive drought stress.
Full text linkDrought is a serious climatic hazard to crop production, more especially when it occurs repeatedly. This created a need to identify repetitive drought tolerant varieties that recover following exposure to drought. Twenty accessions of Solanum aethiopicum Shum group were evaluated for their response to repeated drought exposure in a screen house at Uganda Christian University stressed and well-watered conditions in a split-plot arrangement. January, 2018.Drought is a serious climatic hazard to crop production, more especially when it occurs repeatedly. This created a need to identify repetitive drought tolerant varieties that recover following exposure to drought. Twenty accessions of Solanum aethiopicum Shum group were evaluated for their response to repeated drought exposure in a screen house at Uganda Christian University stressed and well-watered conditions in a split-plot arrangement. Data was collected on growth and yield parameters namely leaf area, plant canopy width, plant height, plant branching, fresh leaf weight, fresh shoot biomass, and harvest index. Exposure of plants to repetitive drought stress led to significant decrease in all evaluated growth parameters at p<0.001 except for plant branching. Similarly, yield parameters exhibited a highly significant difference among accessions and between water levels at p<0.001. Principal component analysis of growth rate traits showed that leaf area contributed to the highest variation for recovery from repetitive drought stress among accessions. The accessions that recovered best from drought stress include SAS108/2015, SAS163/P/2015, SAS183/G/2015, and SAS168/G/2015. For yield parameters, the accessions SAS137/2015, SAS148/2015, SAS108/P/2015, and SAS160/2015 had the highest dry shoot biomass. These findings indicate prospect for improvement of tolerance to repetitive drought stress in S. aethiopicum Shum group
Antioxidant potential of the farmer preferred selections of Solanum aethiopicum vegetable consumed in central Uganda
Full text linkThis study describes that in addition to the rich micronutrient value, indigenous vegetables are regarded as possessing medicinal attributes.In addition to the rich micronutrient value, indigenous vegetables are regarded as possessing medicinal attributes. The Solanaceae family has over 1000 species worldwide, with a number of indigenous species originating in Africa. The most popular leafy vegetable in Uganda is the Solanum aethiopicum (Nakati). The objective of this study was to determine the selected phytochemical attributes, chlorophyll content, moisture content andtotal antioxidant activity of the farmer preferred selections within the landraces of Solanum aethiopicum leafy vegetable in Uganda. Theantioxidant activity was achieved by screening the leaf extracts for their free radical scavenging properties using diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and ascorbic acid as standard. The ability of the extracts to scavenge DPPH radical was determined
Spectrophometrically at 517 nm. The study showed that all the landraces had a high polyphenol and flavonoid content with SAS185/P/2015 containing the highest flavonoid content (3.16±0.06 mg QE/g
fw). SAS1641/2015 showed the highest total polyphenol content of 7.79±0.27 mg GAE/g fw and also showed the highest vitamin C content.
This contributed to the high total antioxidant activity of 2.79±0.01 and 5.43±0.02 mg AAE/g fw when using FRAP and DPPH methods respectively.
SAS145/2015 presented the highest chlorophyll content of 19.69±0.01 mg/g dwb. All the landraces showed a high percentage moisture content that ranged from 82.66±0.35 to 84.21±0.48%. These results are of nutraceutical significance and hence confirm their usage as medicinal vegetables
Determined. Resilient. Empowered. AIDS-Free. Mentored. Safe (D.R.E.A.M.S.)
No full textSave The Mother Conference and Reunion Presentations, 2018.USAID Uganda, Communication for Healthy Communities (CHC), FHI 360 The science of improving lives, Obulamu
Linear Discriminant Analysis of Structure Within African Eggplant ‘Shum’
Full text linkThis paper covers research on African eggplant which lags behind in research attention; leading to, among other gaps, scantiness of information on intra-group genetic diversity.African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum) lags behind in terms of research attention; leading to, among other gaps,scantiness of information on intra-group genetic diversity. Hierarchical clustering was applied to reveal structure in a pioneer 20-entry set of S. aethiopicum Shum group accessions at Africa Solanaceae Research Network secretariat in Uganda, using 61 morpho-agronomic variables collected from a complete randomised design (CRD) with 12 plants per accession in screen-house. A MANOVA preceded linear discriminant analysis, to model each of 61 variables, as predicted by clusters and experiment to filter out non-significant traits. Four distinct clusters emerged, with a cophenetic relation coefficient of 0.87 (P<0.01). Canonical variates that best predicted the observed clusters include petiole length, sepal length (or seed color), fruit calyx length, seeds per fruit, leaf fresh weight (or leaves per plant), fruit fresh yield, seedling vigour, fruits per plant, harvest index and plant growth habit. Results suggest prospects for variety discrimination at various stages; seedling, vegetative and reproductive.
The observed diversity will boost chances of effective selection for desired traits; while the canonical discriminant traits are potential morphological markers, within S. aethiopicum ‘Shum’ for a low-cost germplasm characterization approach
Kasalina ali mwighulu
Full text linkThis is a children story book.This is a children's story about a young lady Catherine who visited heaven and later suffered a brain tumor
Should the Church be involved in Politics?
Full text linkA keynote address delivered at the first Janan Luwum Public Lecture held at Uganda Christian University.The church in Politics is an unhappy marriage! A marriage of sorrows – unhappy because politicians across the planet hate the dictates of conscience and morality; unhappy because politics makes martyrs of the church. I am elated therefore, to have been asked by the organisers of Luwum public lecture to think about and to talk about the theme: “Should the Church Be Involved in Politics?” Within that theme, I have with poetic license carved out the particular topic of my discourse: “The Church in Politics; An Unhappy Marriage”.Uganda Christian University, organised by the Department of Public Administration and Governance in collaboration with the Africa Policy Centre, the Institute of Faith Learning & Service and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Feminist power and its implications on Uganda’s malaria communication campaign
Full text linkThis paper examines power and its manifestation in Uganda’s “Stop Malaria Campaign.” It specifically questions the apparent radical feminism, which is conceptualized as a quest for power, and how such excesses drive implementation of the campaign.This paper examines power and its manifestation in Uganda’s “Stop Malaria Campaign.” It specifically questions the apparent radical feminism, which is conceptualized as a quest for power, and how such excesses drive implementation of the campaign. The paper explains data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews using feminist communication theory as informed by the critical ideas of feminism and power. These three ideas help to put into perspective: domination of the campaign by one gender, interpretation of the campaign’s objectives to suit that one gender, and communication methods used in the campaign. Analysis of the above three processes shows that men are the weaker gender in the malaria prevention drive, an idea that has clashed with the existing male chauvinism on which several families still thrive in Africa. A view that radical feminism should be seen as an organized form of power that needs to be checked if Uganda’s malaria communication campaign is to be implemented successfully is herein proposed, along with some solutions to the challenges
An analysis of bullying in schools as presented by two Ugandan novels
Full text linkThis paper analyzes the depictions of bullying in schools in two selected Ugandan novels: Goretti
Kyomuhendo’s The First Daughter (1996) and Mary Karooro Okurut’s The invisible Weevil (1998). The
study is about the vices that education transmits to the learners depending on the socio-cultural and
political context. One of them that education transmits is the bullying of fellow students. Bullying is
both physical and verbal violence and it can affect the emotional, social, and physical wellbeing of
students (and staff). The study adopts a qualitative content analysis of two Ugandan novels to give
interpretation of the text data. We have used qualitative content analysis to identify the theme and the
main characters in the two novels and made interpretations. Content analysis helped us understand
bullying as practiced in schools. The study found that the schools presented by both novels see
bullying as severe and traumatizing. Both boys and girls are bullied, and it affects their emotional,
social, and physical wellbeing. This behavior is probably a result of global influence in our school
system. Traditional Ugandan education was characterized by close social, ethical, collective orientation
and ensured progressive character development of the child. Some of the values transmitted in
traditional Ugandan education included community-orientation, love and respect for others. The vice of
bullying is likely to have originated from the formal type of education which is more individualistic
oriented. We recommend that a more effective education system for Uganda is one that combines or
inculcates the traditional values of community-orientation, love and respect for others with elements of
modern education
Knowledge, Attitude, and Beliefs of Communities and Health Staff about Echinococcus granulosus Infection in Selected Pastoral and Agropastoral Regions of Uganda
Full text linkA descriptive cross-sectional survey was done to determine knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of the communities and health workers about cystic echinococcosis (CE) in pastoral region of Northeastern (NE) and agropastoral regions of Eastern (E) and Central (C) Uganda. Overall a total of 1310 participants were interviewed.A descriptive cross-sectional survey was done to determine knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of the communities and health workers about cystic echinococcosis (CE) in pastoral region of Northeastern (NE) and agropastoral regions of Eastern (E) and Central (C) Uganda. Overall a total of 1310 participants were interviewed. Community respondents from NE region were more aware of CE infection than those from Eastern (OR 4.85; CI: 3.60–6.60; p 0.05). None of the participants knew his/her CE status. The communities need to be sensitized about CE detection, control, and management and health staff need to be trained on CE diagnosis