If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck — does it have to be a duck?

[Extract] Case Presentation On 2nd July 2013, a 29-year-old HIV-positive woman presented herself to the outpatient clinic at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, Uganda. Her weight had decreased from 46 kg to 42 kg in the past few weeks. In addition, she complained about abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and evening fevers during the week leading up to her visit (see Table 1 and Fig 1 for patient characteristics). Her CD4 T cell count in June 2013 was 34 cells/μl, and she had documented second-line antiretroviral treatment (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, emtricitabine, and lopinavir-ritonavir) failure. She admitted to taking her medications irregularly and was on trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis. Her last HIV-1 RNA viral load in June 2013 was 199,994 copies/ml. Based on her immunosuppression and symptoms, we screened her for tuberculosis (TB). At the time of screening, she could not produce sputum, but an abdominal ultrasound in late June 2013 showed a lymphadenopathy. A chest X-ray was not carried out at baseline, as it would not have changed the clinical decision to treat the presumptive diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB. Her glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was 55 mL/min, the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase was 33 IU/L (normal range 0–35 IU/L), and her albumin level was slightly decreased (35.5 g/L; normal range 38–47 g/L)

Knowledge and Practices of In-Home Pesticide Use: A Community Survey in Uganda

Many communities in low-income countries use in-home pesticides for the control of pests. Such use is often inadequately controlled. In this study, 100 households in Kireka ward, Wakiso district in Uganda were involved in a cross-sectional survey to assess pests, knowledge, and use patterns of pesticides. A structured pretested questionnaire was administered via personal interviews, and observational checklists were used. Mosquitoes were the most prevalent pests (83%), followed by cockroaches (69%) and rats (52%). Pesticides were the most preferred method for pest control (98%), with insecticide spray being the most common form of application (71.4%). Pesticide application was inappropriately done in many households mainly due to inadequate knowledge on use. Only 48% of the respondents read manufacturer's instructions for use. Information on what pesticide to use was obtained from friends (53.1%), points of sales (48%). Educational interventions particularly at points of sale would be a critical avenue for promoting safe use of pesticides in households

The microbial quality and the use of sodis to treat harvested rainwater in rural areas of Uganda case study: Makondo-Lwengo Masaka

While harvested rainwater (HRW) is promoted in rural areas o f Uganda, little attention has been given to its quality. The current study was carried out to investigate the quality o f HRW in the rural area o f Mokondo-Lwengo, Uganda and to determine the effectiveness o f solar water disinfection (SODIS) to treat drinking water in rural households. Households with HRW systems o f different materials were randomly selected and trained in SODIS treatment using 2 liter PET bottles. Following a preliminary short study over 4 months, a year long study was conducted to investigate any seasonal variation. Physiochemical parameters (temperature, pH and TDS) o f the raw HRW were tested on site while the samples for microbial analysis were transported for analysis at Makerere University. Results showed that the HRW met the required physiochemical drinking water standards. However, o f the 462 raw HRW samples, 409 (88.5%) were found to be microbiologically contaminated and unsafe for drinking without treatment. Clostridium perfringens was never found. Lack o f cleaning o f the HRW systems; the manual abstraction o f water due to faulty taps; overhanging vegetation around the HRW systems; the poor condition o f drainage o f water collection area, season, the number of rainfall events in a month and the amount o f rainfall received by a system, were the most significant factors influencing the microbial quality o f the HRW. Following SODIS treatment, the treatment efficiency ranged from 61.2%-100% with the highest treatment efficiencies occurring during the dry months o f the year. When a 25L borosilicate glass tube fitted with a compound parabolic collector (BGTR-CPC) was evaluated, bacterial inactivation to below the limit o f detection (\u3c1CFU/I00ml.) was obtained in 85% o f experiments

Human Herpesvirus 8 in Uganda: Seroprevalence in Blood Donors, Genome Variability and Evolution

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), also called Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is associated with all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), and is considered to be the infectious cause of this disease. Classical KS, which affects mainly elderly men in the Mediterranean region, usually presents as benign paranodular skin lesions, but endemic KS of human immunodeficiency virus- (HIV-) negative individuals in equatorial (East and Central) Africa and KS associated with HIV infection or post-transplantation immunosuppression can be clinically aggressive, affecting internal organs. HHV-8 is also associated with primary effusion lymphomas (PEL) and multicentric Castleman's disease. KS is a prominent disease in Uganda accounting for approximately 50% of reported cancer cases. Epidemic (HIV-associated) and endemic KS occur in Uganda, each afflicting both adults and children. The highest seroprevalence of HHV-8, with estimates ranging from 11-77%, has been reported for sub-Saharan Africa, followed by the Mediterranean countries (2-28%) and then Northern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean countries (2-4%). Estimates of seroprevalence in the USA range from 0-20%. The mode by which HHV-8 is transmitted is not known, but transmission most probably occurs via sexual means in countries where KS is non-endemic, and via non- sexual means in countries where KS is endemic, such as Uganda and Zambia. The HHV-8 genome consists of a unique region of approximately 140.5 kbp flanked by multiple 801 bp terminal repeats. Two almost complete genome sequences are available, one from an AIDS PEL cell line, BC-1 and one from an AIDS KS lesion. The great majority of the genome is highly conserved, but genes at both ends of the unique region exhibit striking variation. The K1 gene, at the left end of the genome, encodes a highly variable type 1 membrane protein. Five HHV-8 K1 subtypes, generally called A, B, C, D and E have been identified. Subtype B appears to predominate in Africa, together with a variant (A5) of the A subtype, while subtypes A and C predominate elsewhere in the world. The K15 gene, at the right end of the genome, occurs as two highly diverged alleles, P (predominant) and M (minor), showing only 30% amino acid sequence identity. The P allele is more frequent among HHV-8 genomes, and the M allele is rarer. Evidence for recombination has been observed in 20-30% of HHV-8 strains with almost half of the African strains displaying mosaic genomes. Although KS is a prominent disease in Uganda, little is known about the prevalence of HHV-8 in the Ugandan population and the characteristics of HHV- 8 strains present in this country. The aims of this project were to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 in Ugandan blood donors and to characterise the genomes of HHV-8 strains in Ugandan KS patients. During the course of this work, one report on HHV-8 seroprevalence in Ugandan blood donors and three on K1 subtypes in samples from various parts of the world, including some from Uganda, were published. Using a combination of two serological tests, ELISA (against lytic (ORF65) and latent (ORF73/LANA) antigens) and LANA IF test, antibodies were detected in a high percentage (74%) of 114 HIV-negative blood donors, confirming previous results. Attempts to detect HHV-8 DNA by PCR in peripheral white blood cells of the blood donors were largely unsuccessful. PCR, sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the K1 gene in tumour samples from 17 KS patients indicated that the majority (11) were infected by the B subtype of HHV-8. Five patients were infected by the A5 subtype. A variant of the C subtype, showing characteristics of both A and C subtypes in addition to unique characteristics, was detected in a single patient. PCR and sequence analysis of other genome loci implied that at least five of nine (55%) HHV-8 strains are recombinants between subtypes. Three of the five strains with a K1 A5 gene were analysed and all were found to be subtype B in the rest of the genome. The single K1 subtype C strain was also a recombinant between subtypes C and B. PCR analysis for the K15 gene in tumour samples from 30 KS patients confirmed previous results that the P allele predominates. For the first time, a single strain bearing the M allele was identified in East African samples. Sequence analysis of the entire K15 gene in selected samples indicated that the P and M alleles occur in two distinct forms. Divergence between the M allele found in the Ugandan strain and that in the previously sequenced BC-1 strain is at least as great as that between representatives of the P allele. This indicates that introduction of the M allele into extant HHV-8 subtypes did not occur by a single, relatively recent recombination event as was concluded from a previous study in which very limited variation in the M allele was reported. The study increases our understanding of the characteristics of HHV-8 strains involved in KS in Uganda and provides new insights into the evolution of HHV-8

Retention of academics in Ugandan private universities: the role of human resource practices.

Doctor of Philosophy in Management Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2016.The study assesses the retention of academics in private Ugandan Universities and focuses on the role of human resource management practices in ensuring retention. There is rapid growth in the number of universities in Uganda which calls for a large number of academics that should be retained to offer services. Hence, human resource practices were explored to assess the extent to which these practices are currently able to retain staff and also to determine specific challenges and strategies to academic staff retention. The study was conducted in six chartered Private Universities in Uganda, namely, Ndejje, Uganda Christian, Uganda Martyrs, Bugema, Nkumba University and Kampala International Universities. A quantitative cross sectional survey design applying both quantitative and qualitative techniques was adopted. Academics, HR officers and members of Top Management at the universities were selected using cluster sampling (academics) and simple random sampling respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires which were distributed to academics and HR and Top Management officers were interviewed. The findings show that all the six HR practices were adopted but with varying degrees of magnitude; training and development has the greatest impact on academics‟ retention followed by compensation; academics believe that management is most concerned with recruitment and selection followed by performance appraisal, HR planning, industrial relations, training and development and compensation. Further still there exist significant intercorrelations amongst the human resource practices; the HR practices significantly account for the variance in determining academics retention; there is a significant difference in the perceptions of academics varying in biographical profiles (age, education, position, tenure, gender and the biographical profiles of academics significantly influence their intentions to quit. On the basis of these findings recommendations have been drawn to ensure enhancing the positive effects and to counteract the negative effects of academics‟ retention and the challenges to academics‟ retention. Also recommendations on the basis of the biographical profiles‟ influence on the academics intention to quit

Social issues in the prevention of perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Over the last 10 years, a strong relationship between women’s status including access to income and decision-making in the home have drawn. Increasing attention in the area of reproductive health. Changing trends in economic and social lives of many African countries, the family is increasingly faced with financial hardships. This in turn has forced women in the labour market thus affecting the hierarchy and the decision-making process within the family(10)(11). Subsequently, women’s working patterns have changed and along with it their health. Child care and rearing practices. Hence, the strong relationship between these variables and increased perinatal/neonatal morbidity and mortality

Evaluation of Solar Disinfection of E. coli Under Sub-Saharan Field Conditions Using a 25 Litre Borosilicate Glass Batch Reactor Fitted with a Compound Parabolic Collector.

The bacterial inactivation efficacy of a solar water disinfection (SODIS) reactor consisting of a 25L borosilicate glass tube fitted with a compound parabolic collector (BGTR-CPC) was assessed under equatorial weather conditions in Uganda. The SODIS BGTR-CPC was tested over a 17-month period in Sub-Saharan conditions in Kampala, Uganda. The BGTR-CPC was filled with natural water from a nearby protected well. A wild strain of Escherichia coli isolated from local natural water was added to the reactor to give a starting population of between 105 and 107 CFU/100ml. This spiked water was exposed to natural sunlight. Satisfactory bacterial inactivation (log10 reduction values \u3e6 units or inactivation to below the limit of detection (/100ml.)) was observed for 11 of 13 experiments. Rainfall and overcast/cloudy conditions were factors on both of the occasions when incomplete inactivation was observed. In conclusion, the use of CPC SODIS technology is suitable for treating drinking water both at household level and institutional level in Sub-Saharan and other similar tropical climates if careful consideration of the cloud cover and rainfall is taken into account

Densities and population sizes of raptors in Uganda’s conservation areas

Projected increases in Africa’s human population over the next 40 years point to further, large-scale conversion of natural habitats into farmland, with far-reaching consequences for raptor species, some of which are now largely restricted to protected areas (PAs). To assess the importance of PAs for raptors in Uganda, we conducted an annual road survey through savanna, pastoral and agricultural land during 2008–2015. Here, we present density estimates for 34 diurnal raptor species, 18 of which were encountered largely or entirely within PAs. These included seven out of eight globally threatened or near-threatened species surveyed. Based mainly on published demographic values, we converted density estimates (birds 100 km-2) to numbers of adult pairs, for 11 resident, savanna-dependent species. We then estimated adult population sizes within conservation areas (individual PAs and clusters of contiguous PAs), based on the area of savanna in each site. This suggested that two threatened residents, Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus and Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos, have national breeding populations of just 90–120 pairs. A third, White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis, may have a breeding population of just 22–32 pairs. In each case, at least 90% of pairs are thought to reside within Uganda’s five largest conservation areas. In three cases our estimates of pair density were markedly lower than in other studies, while in six cases they were broadly consistent with published findings, derived from more intensive survey methods. Further work is required to determine the accuracy of our estimates for individual conservation areas, and to assess the long-term viability of Uganda’s threatened raptor populations.PostprintPeer reviewe

Implications of farmland expansion for species abundance, richness and mean body mass in African raptor communities

Funding: The cost of fieldwork was generously covered by The Peregrine Fund (USA) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK).Globally, conversion of natural habitats to farmland poses the greatest extinction risk to birds, its consequences being especially pervasive in the case of large predators and scavengers, whose declines may trigger extensive cascading effects. Human population growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to drive a vast expansion in agricultural land by 2050, largely at the expense of pastoral land and savanna. The greatest expanse of suitable land yet to be converted to agriculture lies in East and Central Africa, including South Sudan, DRC and Tanzania. To gauge the effects of land conversion on raptor populations in this region we used road survey data from neighbouring Uganda, from which we determined linear encounter rates (birds seen 100 km−1; n = 33 species), and species richness (from 53 species). Encounter rates were much lower in pastoral land than in protected savanna (median difference: −41%; 23 species), and lower still in agricultural land (−90%; 24 species). These disparities were influenced by diet and body mass. For large eagles and vultures, encounter rates in agricultural land were 97% lower than in protected savanna (median of 12 species), whereas for smaller raptors they were 30% lower (12 species). Large, apex consumers were thus more vulnerable to farmland expansion, and this was reflected in the mean body mass of species encountered in savanna (1740 g), pastoral (995 g) and agricultural land (856 g). Body mass differences remained significant when vultures were excluded. Since threat status is linked to body mass, encounter rates for globally threatened and near-threatened species likewise showed a more pronounced deficit in farmland than those of least concern. Accordingly, pastoral and agricultural transects were less species-rich (10.6 and 6.7 raptor species 100 km−1, respectively) than savanna transects (13.2 species). Our findings suggest that the expansion of agricultural land in sub-Saharan Africa will reduce raptor populations in pastoral land and savanna by c. 50% and 90%, respectively. We propose that conservation efforts focus on identifying the causes of raptor population deficits in farmland, and on safeguarding tracts of unprotected, intact savanna, together with existing protected areas.PostprintPeer reviewe

Company Performance: Are Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors Important?

        Building on the resource-based view of entrepreneurship, we examine the association between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and company performance, measured by return on assets, return on equity, and return on invested capital. We use regression models on a dataset of 60 observations of Russian companies including RAEX agency ESG ratings from 2018 to 2019. The results show that, in line with expectations, companies that comply with ESG principles demonstrate significantly better financial performance than other companies. This result holds true irrespective of the performance indicator used. Moreover, the governance factor is strongly related to company performance, providing implications for companies' policymakers in terms of the utility of adopting ESG information. The study provides insights into the resource-based view of entrepreneurship, demonstrating that ESG factors, and mainly the governance factor, create a competitive advantage for companies and allow superior performance