Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Levels and Some Associated Radiological Hazards of Portland Cements and Their Raw Materials from Selected Cement Industries in Eastern Uganda

The radiological hazards as a result of the natural radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K for Portland cement from different factories were assessed using HPGe detectors. The measured mean activity concentrations for 238U, 232Th and 40K were; 50.34±1.86, 38.01±1.48 and 331.59±13.19 Bq/kg respectively for the Portland cement raw materials, 31.15±1.49, 20.83±1.02 and 267.60 ± 8.65 Bq/kg respectively for the Portland cement products. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq), Excess lifetime cancer Risks (ELCR), external and internal hazard indices were also estimated due to the Portland cement and the respective raw materials and the results obtained were comparable to others cited. The results obtained in this study therefore indicate no significant radiological hazard that may arise from the use of these materials in construction of dwelling places. Keywords: Natural Radioactivity levels, Portland cement, MCNP, Gamma spectroscopy DOI: 10.7176/JEES/13-6-03 Publication date:August 31st 202

False positive HIV diagnoses in resource limited settings: operational lessons learned for HIV programmes

Access to HIV diagnosis is life-saving; however the use of rapid diagnostic tests in combination is vulnerable to wrongly diagnosing HIV infection when both screening tests give a false positive result. Misclassification of HIV patients can also occur due to poor quality control, administrative errors and lack of supervision and training of staff. Médecins Sans Frontières discovered in 2004 that HIV negative individuals were enrolled in some HIV programmes. This paper describes the result of an audit of three sites to review testing practices, implement improved testing algorithms and offer re-testing to clients enrolled in the HIV clinic

Overweight and Obesity Challenges Among African Americans in Rural Alabama Black Belt

This study aimed at averting challenges of overweight and obesity among African Americans in rural Alabama. Focus group discussions and surveys were used to design a 12-week nutrition education and physical activity program. Results showed a significant improvement (p\u3c0.05) in participants’ knowledge scores. Values for systolic blood pressure significantly reduced (p\u3c0.00). There was an increase in number of participants with normal blood pressure and a reduction in number of participants with stage 2 hypertension. The study highlights that nutrition education and physical activity can lead to improved health outcomes among African Americans in rural Alabama

Suitable extraction conditions for determination of total anti-oxidant capacity and phenolic compounds in Ruspolia differens Serville

Recent research on edible insects’ composition has placed more emphasis on the quantity and quality of macro- and micro- nutrients and less emphasis on their bio-active components. This study aimed at assessing the effect of four factors, namely: defatting, solvent type (ethanol, methanol and acetone), solvent concentration (50 %, 75 % and 100 %) and extraction time (15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes) on the extraction efficiency, the total anti-oxidant activity and the amount of total phenolics and total flavonoids of Ruspolia differens. It was not known if the removal of fat (defatting) would influence the total anti-oxidant activity, and the distribution of anti-oxidant compounds in the R. differens matrix. Non-defatting (extraction of fat from the matrix), use of acetone and sonication for 60 minutes are associated with high anti-oxidant activity and high amounts of bio-active compouds extracted. Aqueous acetone (50 %) extracts had the highest average anti-oxidant activity (87.00 ± 2.59 % RSA) while 100 % acetone extracts had the highest average total phenolics (11.14 ± 0.18 GAE/g) and average total flavonoids (3.02 ± 0.21 QE/g) content, indicating the presence of other, possibly highly polar, bio-active compounds in R. differens.status: Published onlin

CD4 Stabilization Tubes Provide Improved Accuracy of Absolute CD4 T-Cell Counts Compared to Standard K3 EDTA Tubes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Immunologic Monitoring in Resource-Poor Settings▿

CD4 stabilization tubes have the ability to ensure internal quality control in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) monitoring laboratory by maintaining accurate absolute CD4 T-cell counts for up to 6 days. Here, we assessed this technology for its use in an HIV clinical monitoring laboratory in a resource-poor setting in rural Uganda