HIV/AIDS STIGMATIZATION, THE REASON FOR POOR ACCESS TO HIV COUNSELING AND TESTING (HCT) AMONG THE YOUTHS IN GULU (UGANDA)

HIV/AIDS-related stigma still exists in many communities in Uganda. Stigma perpetuates discrimination and this may be a key contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS in this country. Right from the beginning, HIV/AIDS epidemic has been accompanied with fear, ignorance and denial, leading to stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. A study conducted by Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) in Uganda indicated that 64% of the people who tested for HIV/AIDS did not disclose status to their partners due to fear of stigmatization. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gulu District, Pece sub County among the youths 15 to 35 years old. A structured questionnaire was administered to 86 consented youths who were consecutively selected. Ethical approval was obtained from Gulu Hospital. Most youths (90%) practiced stigmatization, (93.1%) respondents had adequate knowledge on HIV counseling and testing (HCT). However, only (36.1%) had undertaken HCT and the majority did not do because of fear of stigmatization. There is sufficient knowledge, a positive attitude but a poor practice to HCT. There is high level of HIV/AIDS stigmatization among the youths

ASSERTIVENESS AND ATTITUDES OF HIV/AIDS ORPHANED GIRLS TOWARDS EDUCATION IN KAMPALA (UGANDA).

Whereas HIV/AIDS prevalence has been declining in Uganda from 30% to less than 10% in the last 2 decades, the number of HIV/AIDS orphaned girls in secondary schools is still high and girl children have tended to carry the heaviest burdens of family responsibilities thereby adversely affecting their assertiveness and attitudes towards education. Assertiveness is a critical life skill that enables a person to state an opinion, claim a right, or establish authority and it is important to improve attitude towards education. This study examined the relationship between assertiveness and attitude towards education of HIV/AIDS orphaned and non-orphaned adolescent school girls in Kampala. The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) Dominance (Do) Assertiveness Scale and the Attitude Scale were administered to 225 students consecutively selected from 6 secondary schools in Kampala. HIV/AIDS Orphaned girls had lower levels of assertiveness and most had a negative attitude towards education compared to non-orphaned girls. Girls orphaned to HIV/AIDS were less assertive compared to those orphaned by other causes. There was a positive relationship between assertiveness and attitude towards education among orphaned adolescent secondary school girls in Kampala. Girls orphaned to HIV/AIDS were less assertive compared to other school girls and have a poor attitude towards education

Environmental, dietary and case-control study of Nodding Syndrome in Uganda: A post-measles brain disorder triggered by malnutrition?

AbstractNodding Syndrome (NS) is an epileptic encephalopathy characterized by involuntary vertical head nodding, other types of seizures, and progressive neurological deficits. The etiology of the east African NS epidemic is unknown. In March 2014, we conducted a case-control study of medical, nutritional and other risk factors associated with NS among children (aged 5–18years) of Kitgum District, northern Uganda (Acholiland). Data on food availability, rainfall, and prevalent disease temporally related to the NS epidemic were also analyzed. In NS Cases, the mean age of reported head nodding onset was 7.6years (range 1–17years). The epidemiologic curve of NS incidence spanned 2000–2013, with peaks in 2003 and 2008. Month of onset of head nodding was non-uniform, with all-year-aggregated peaks in April and June when food availability was low. Families with one or more NS Cases had been significantly more dependent on emergency food and, immediately prior to head nodding onset in the child, subsistence on moldy plant materials, specifically moldy maize. Medical history revealed a single significant association with NS, namely prior measles infection. NS is compared with the post-measles disorder subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, with clinical expression triggered by factors associated with poor nutrition

Targeting serine hydroxymethyltransferases 1 and 2 for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy

Despite progress in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), T-cell ALL (T-ALL) has limited treatment options, particularly in the setting of relapsed/refractory disease. Using an unbiased genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 screen we sought to identify pathway dependencies for T-ALL which could be harnessed for therapy development. Disruption of the one-carbon folate, purine and pyrimidine pathways scored as the top metabolic pathways required for T-ALL proliferation. We used a recently developed inhibitor of SHMT1 and SHMT2, RZ-2994, to characterize the effect of inhibiting these enzymes of the one-carbon folate pathway in T-ALL and found that T-ALL cell lines were differentially sensitive to RZ-2994, with the drug inducing a S/G2 cell cycle arrest. The effects of SHMT1/2 inhibition were rescued by formate supplementation. Loss of both SHMT1 and SHMT2 was necessary for impaired growth and cell cycle arrest, with suppression of both SHMT1 and SHMT2 inhibiting leukemia progression in vivo. RZ-2994 also decreased leukemia burden in vivo and remained effective in the setting of methotrexate resistance in vitro. This study highlights the significance of the one-carbon folate pathway in T-ALL and supports further development of SHMT inhibitors for treatment of T-ALL and other cancers

Stochastic resonance between dissipative structures in a bistable noise-sustained dynamics

We study an extended system that without noise shows a monostable dynamics, but when submitted to an adequate multiplicative noise, an effective bistable dynamics arise. The stochastic resonance between the attractors of the \textit{noise-sustained dynamics} is investigated theoretically in terms of a two-state approximation. The knowledge of the exact nonequilibrium potential allows us to obtain the output signal-to-noise ratio. Its maximum is predicted in the symmetric case for which both attractors have the same nonequilibrium potential value.Comment: RevTex, 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted in Physical Review

Short Message Service (SMS)-Based Intervention to Improve Treatment Adherence among HIV-Positive Youth in Uganda: Focus Group Findings

This paper presents one of the first qualitative studies to discuss programmatic barriers to SMS-based interventions for HIV-positive youth and discusses pathways through which youth perceive them to work. We conducted six focus groups with 20 male and 19 female HIV-positive youths in two clinics in Kampala, Uganda. We find that youth commonly use SMS as over 90% of this study’s youths knew how to read, write and send messages and almost three-fourths of them had phones. Youth strongly felt that the success of this intervention hinged on ensuring confidentiality about their HIV-positive status. Key programmatic challenges discussed where restrictions on phone use and phone sharing that could exclude some youth. Participants felt that the intervention would improve their adherence by providing them with needed reminders and social support. Youths’ suggestions about intervention logistics related to content, frequency, timing and two-way messages will be helpful to practitioners in the field

Legislative Documents

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