MTN Mobile Money Technology As A Convinient Option For Water Utility Bills In Uganda

In the past, the public struggled to stand long hours and travelling long distances to pay watebills in Uganda urban centres. This made people become reluctant to pay for water bills leading to continious water cut offs and loosing trust in the National Water and Sewerage Cooperation in Uganda. The use of mobile money technology has changed and made access to water in the urban centres more effective and efficiency. The convenience of MTN Mobile money to the public came as a real time solution and has eliminated delays in updating customer accounts as well as reduce on the physical movements and long distances to pay bills and check account balance. The public are now finding payment of bills so simple; they can keep their accounts up-to-date and never get disconnected. Uganda National Water and Sewerage Cooperation in collaboration with the MTN has made a tremendous work although there is great need for government to reduce on the water tarrifs which were recently increased in the 2013/204 and will lead to reduction of people who can have access to water. There need for NGOs and andn other CSO to become the voice for the voiceless to see that water the current increased prices i,e 2,258 Uganda shillings for domestic use is reduced

Optimisation of Rural Biomass Waste to Energy Systems

Biomass waste to energy conversion systems were traditionally installed on rural farms to manage manure disposal and mitigate odour. These systems provide heating and electricity and are increasingly viewed as sources of revenue. Poorly operated or sized systems will not realise revenue. For farms that would like to install such systems, there is no tool available that optimises the systems prior to determination of their commercial viability. As such, there is a need to optimise these systems to determine the threshold herd size for commercially viability, and their maximum revenue. The associated optimisation problem is non-linear, non-convex and very difficult. Consequently, its solution is explored with a metaheuristic. The Tabu Search metaheuristic was adapted to solve this problem by: multi-period and diversification strategies that effectively search the solution space, handling of constraints using different strategies for searching feasible regions, with incursions into infeasible regions, and evaluation of a multi-objective function exploiting an approximation of the Pareto front. This dissertation is on research done to determine the threshold herd size for commercial viability of the biomass waste to energy conversion systems, and the maximum revenue from these systems. The threshold herd size was found by optimisation of the systems for different herd sizes. The threshold herd sizes were 80 dairy cows and 1200 swines for Quebec, and 100 dairy cows for Ontario. These considered co-digestion of manure and food waste, use of by-products, food waste tipping fees and an increase in the electricity tariff. The threshold herd size for Quebec also considered a favourable net metering contract. When digesting manure only, the threshold herd sizes were, 350 dairy cows for Quebec and 200 dairy cows for Ontario. The maximum revenue from the biomass waste to energy system was determined by optimising the system for a given herd size. Revenue was maximised by: minimising cost through proper sizing of the components, minimising consumption of propane and electricity from the grid, selling electricity to the utility, and capitalising on renewable energy incentives. The maximum revenue was determined for a herd size of 500 cows, and recommendations were made on its mode of operation

Phytochemical compounds and antibacterial activity of Jatropha curcas Linn. extracts

The present study was conducted to determine the phytochemical compounds in different solvent extracts of Jatropha curcas Linn. plant and antibacterial activity of crude extracts. Aqueous, methanolic and hexane extracts of various plant parts were analysed for phytochemical compounds by spectrophotometry, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). Antibacterial activity was studied by paper disc diffusion assay against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by micro-broth dilution. The root bark methanolic extract contained high phenolics (11.51 mg gallic acid equivalents/g DW) and flavonoids (0.94 mg rutin equivalents/g DW). Kernel meal aqueous extract contained high saponins (0.65 mg diosgenin equivalents/g DW) and the methanolic extract contained 1.13 mg/g DW phorbol esters. Phytochemicals detected by RP-HPLC were pyrogallol, gallic acid, naringin, rutin and vanillic acid. The main compounds detected by GC-MS were oxalic acid (root bark), acetic acid and oleic acid (stem bark). Inhibition zones ranged from 8.0 to 17.7 mm. Low MIC (1.2 to 2.3 mg/ml) and MBC (0.4 to 6.3 mg/ml) values were observed in methanolic extract of all plant parts. The present study showed that stem bark, root bark and kernel meal of J. curcas contained compounds with antibacterial activities. The results indicate the potential of J. curcas as a source of antibacterial compounds

Prevalence and factors associated with post traumatic stress disorder among field police patrol officers serving in Kampala Metropolitan region

BACKGROUND: Occupation groups like police officers and fire fighters are exposed to a number of traumatic events which put them at a risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have found the prevalence of PTSD in police officers to vary between 7 and 19%. However, most of these studies have been undertaken in western setting with little research having been undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa including Uganda. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among field police patrol officers serving in Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) North Region. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study that was conducted on 392 field police patrol officers serving in KMP North Region. Diagnosis of PTSD was undertaken using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. In order to assess for psychiatric comorbidities, the study used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) RESULTS: In this study, the prevalence of PTSD was 7.4%. An additional 62.5% had sub-threshold PTSD, which was defined as, the presence of at least one PTSD symptom but not meeting full criteria for PTSD diagnosis. The factors found to be significantly associated with PTSD were all related to the presence of psychiatric comorbidities, namely the presence of: a current major depressive episode (aOR = 4.7; 95% CI: 1.5- 14.8; p = .009); an alcohol use disorder (aOR = 5.1; 95% CI: 2.0-13.0; p = .001); and presence of dissociation symptoms (aOR = 6.7; 95% CI: 2.0-22.2; p = .002). CONCLUSION: PTSD is one of the common psychiatric disorders experienced by serving police officers in Uganda. The tendency of PTSD in this group to co-occur with other psychiatric disorders means that any treatment program to address it should be part of a comprehensive multi-disorder mental health treatment programme in the police office

Enhancing skills to promote the utilization of medical laboratory equipment in low resource settings

Objective This study was to demonstrate the efficacy of an intervention model involving on-going skills enhancement of users, Biomedical Engineers and Technicians (BMETs) in enhancing the utilization of medical laboratory equipment in low resource settings. Methods In an action research study, the condition of 202 pieces of medical equipment in seven regional blood banks in the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS) were studied prospectively from January 2018 to December 2018. Of these, 160 pieces were included in the intervention group where users and BMETs were mentored and trained in the use and preventive maintenance for all equipment types. A second group of 42 pieces of medical equipment which were not involved in the intervention program, were assessed for comparison. Twenty-one participants were interviewed to obtain detailed information about their experiences and the impact of the training interventions. Results The percentage of equipment in good working condition and in use in the intervention group improved from 60% to 74%, while the improvement recorded in the second group was slower (48% to 55%) over the one-year period. Equipment in the intervention group were three times more likely to be in good working condition and in use at the end of the study period with an odds ratio of 3.2 (95% CI: 1.49 to 6.83) and P value < 0.001. Conclusion The model applied by Knowledge for Change (K4C) that involves co-learning and mentorship of users and BMETs was successful and should be implemented in other health facilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Optimisation of biomass waste to energy conversion systems for rural grid-connected applications

Several rural farms have installed anaerobic digestion systems as manure management systems. Such systems are also used to provide electricity and heating. In these systems, biogas is generated from anaerobic digestion of biomass waste and combusted in a boiler and an engine-generator set, to produce heat and electricity respectively. This paper calculates the size and mode of operation of a biomass waste to energy conversion system that would result in maximum revenue for a given herd size. A Tabu Search optimisation technique is used. A number of equally good solutions are generated. These solutions are plotted on a Pareto front and the best solution is defined as one that lies on this Pareto front. Optimisation of a biomass waste to energy conversion system reduces reliance on electricity from the grid. It also reduces reliance on the use of propane or other fossil fuels for heating

WHO 2010 infant feeding guidelines in resource-limited settings: attitudes of human immunodeficiency virus-infected women and other role players in Kampala, Uganda

Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the attitudes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and other role players towards the World Health Organization (WHO) 2010 infant feeding guidelines.Design: This was formative evaluation research, carried out from September-November 2011.Setting: The study was conducted at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.Subjects: Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held among five groups: HIV-infected pregnant women (9), HIV-infected postpartum mothers (10), HIV-infected peers (10), male partners (10), family members of the pregnant women (10) and key informants (12).Outcome measures: Descriptive data were collected through FGDs and key informant interviews.Results: With the exception of male partners, the majority of FGD participants and key informants who were health workers held a positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding. The introduction of complementary foods at six months while HIV-infected lactating mother continued to breastfeed was supported by all of the health workers, but by only a minority of participants from each focus group discussion. The majority of FGD participants and the health workers were in favour of an HIV-infected lactating mother taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs during the breastfeeding period, rather than the infant.Conclusion: Three conclusions can be drawn from this study. Firstly, general attitudes towards the WHO 2010 infant feeding guidelines on exclusive breastfeeding were positive. Secondly, there were still fears about an HIV-infected mother introducing complementary foods at six months while continuing to breastfeed. Thirdly, all of the FGD participants and the majority of the health workers recommended that the mother should take ARV drugs in the lactating period.Keywords: infant feeding, exclusive breastfeeding, HIV-infected lactating mothers, male partners, WHO, resource-limited setting

Membrane-active antibacterial compounds in methanolic extracts of Jatropha curcas and their mode of action against Staphylococcus aureus S1434 and Escherichia coli E216

This research presents the antibacterial potential and mode of action of related active compounds of kernel meal, leaves, stem bark, root bark and root wood extracts of Jatropha curcas Linn. plant on Staphylococcus aureus S1434 and Escherichia coli E216. At double MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) value, cell viability of S. aureus S1434 was inhibited by all extracts, but only kernel meal and root wood extracts inhibited E. coli E216. At half MIC, the μ24 (decrease in cell viability after 24h) for S. aureus S1434 was 69 and 66%, while that of E. coli E216 were 44 and 42% in the presence of kernel meal and leaves extract, respectively. However at double MIC, less than 5% of viable cells of S. aureus S1434 were detected in the leaves and root bark extracts after 5h. Conversely, less than 5% of the viable cells of E. coli E216 were detected in the presence of kernel meal and root wood extract after 7.5h. Loss of 260nm absorbing compounds and proteins from bacterial cells was directly proportional to the time of exposure of cells to the extracts. All extracts caused bacterial cells to lose their ability to tolerate salt (NaCl) at double MIC value. The loss of 260nm absorbing compounds, proteins and the loss of tolerance to NaCl suggest that leaves, root bark and kernel meal damaged the bacterial cell membrane. The analysis of bioactive compounds by GC-MS confirmed the presence of acetic acid, hexadecanoic acid, citric acid, 9-octadecenoic acid as the major membrane-active antibacterial compounds