The Effect of Land Cover Change on Soil Properties around Kibale National Park in South Western Uganda

The change from natural forest cover to tea and Eucalyptus is rampant in protected areas of western Uganda. The objectives were; to examine the trend in land-use /cover change and determine the effect of these changes on the physico-chemical properties of soils around Kibale National Park. The trend in land use/cover change was assessed by analyzing a series of landsat images. Focused group discussions and key informant interviews were used for land-use/cover reconstruction. Three major land uses were included; woodlot (Eucalyptus grandis; 5 years old) ), tea (57 years old) and natural forest used as a control. Each of these land-uses were selected at two different North facing landscape positions and were replicated three times. A total of 36 composite soil samples were taken at 0–15 and 15–30 cm depth from natural forest, Tea plantation and eucalyptus on three ridges. Results showed that small scale farming, tea and eucalyptus plantation and built up area have increased over time, to the expense of woodlot and forest cover. Tea and Eucalyptus have induced changes in: exchangeable Mg and Ca, available P, SOM, pH, and bulk density of sub soil (P<.05). Landscape positions within land use also significantly influenced most soil properties (P<.05). Similar findings were observed by Wang et al. (2006) in commercial tea plantations in China that received nitrogen fertilizers

Reproductive performance of single and double artificial insemination protocol in swine

The aim of the research was to contribute towards improved pig reproductive performance in Uganda, through determining community boar stud semen quality as affected by boar traits and comparing the performance of single and double insemination. Semen ejaculates (n=36) from mature boars (3Large white, 3 Camborough) were studied for quality in relation to breed, boar age and individual boar. In addition, single and double inseminations were carried out during in vivo fertility trials (n = 84). The data was analyzed for correlation using Spearman rank-order correlations and variance of means by Mann-Whitney test of SPSS version 20. There was a significant positive correlation between boar age and semen volume (rs = 0.849, p&lt;0.05), semen density (rs (36) = 0.709, p&lt;0.05), total sperms (rs (36) = 0.798, p&lt; 0.05), motility (rs (36) = 0.571, p&lt;0.05), membrane integrity (rs (36) = 0.713, p&lt;0.05) and sperm viability (rs(36) = 0.875, p&lt;0.05). The semen quality significantly varied (p&lt;0.001) between individual boars. The sperm motility of the  Camborough was significantly higher than LargeWhite (p&lt;0.05). The conception rate in double insemination (94.4%) was not significantly different (p&gt;0.05) from single insemination (89.6%). The mean litter size for single insemination was 8.16 ± 0.34, (range 2-13 piglets) while for double, it was 9.00±0.39, (range 4-16 piglets). There was a positive relationship between semen quality and boar age. The performance of single dose in terms of piglets per insemination was higher than in double dose. Thus, a single AI dose is as good as a double dose and should be promoted among smallholder farmers who need access to low cost but high gain from breeding services. The single dose protocol seem to reduce breeding costs, however, an investigation of cost benefit analysis is needed to establish its cost effectiveness in commercial artificial insemination.Key words: Boar traits, insemination protocol, semen fertility (in vitro &amp; in vivo)  Performance reproductive du protocole d’insemination artificielle simple et double chez les porcsLe but de la recherche était de contribuer à l’amélioration de la performance reproductive des porcs en Ouganda, en déterminant la qualité du sperme de verrats communautaires tel qu’affectée par les traits des verrats et en comparant les performances des inséminations simple et double. Les éjaculats (n = 36) de verrats matures (3Grand blanc, 3 Camborough) ont été étudiés pour déterminer leur qualité sur base de la race, de l’âge du verrat et du verrat individuel. De plus, des inséminations simples et doubles ont été réalisées lors d’essais de fertilité in vivo (n = 84). Les données ont été analysées pour déterminer la corrélation en utilisant les corrélations de rang-ordre de Spearman et la variance des moyennes par test de Mann-Whitney de SPSS version 20. On a noté une corrélation positive significative entre l’âge du verrat et le volume du sperme (rs = 0.849, p &lt;0.05), la densité du sperme (rs (36) = 0,709, p &lt;0,05), le nombre  total de spermatozoïdes (rs (36) = 0,798, p &lt;0,05), la motilité (rs (36) = 0,571, p &lt;0,05), l’intégrité de la membrane (rs (36) = 0,713, p &lt;0,05) et la viabilité des spermatozoïdes (rs (36) = 0,875, p &lt;0,05). On a noté une variabilité significative (p &lt;0,001) de la qualité du sperme entre verrats individuels. La motilité des spermatozoïdes du Camborough était significativement plus élevée que celle de LargeWhite (p &lt;0,05). Le taux de conception en double insémination (94,4%) n’était pas significativement différent (p&gt; 0,05) de celui de l’insémination unique (89,6%). La taille moyenne des portées pour une insémination unique était de 8,16 ± 0,34 (fourchette de 2 à 13 porcelets) alors que pour la double insémination elle était de 9,00 ± 0,39 (fourchette de 4 à 16 porcelets). On a relevé une relation positive entre la qualité du sperme et l’âge du everrat. La performance d’une dose unique en termes de porcelets par insémination était plus élevée qu’en double dose. Ainsi, une seule dose d’IA est aussi bonne qu’une double dose et devrait être encouragée chez les petits exploitants qui ont besoin d’accès à un coût faible mais à un gain élevé des services de sélection. Le protocole de dose unique semble réduire les coûts de reproduction, cependant, une étude de l’analyse coûts-avantages est nécessaire pour établir son rapport coût-efficacité dans l’insémination artificielle  commerciale.Mots-clés : traits du verrat, protocole d’insémination, fertilité du sperme (in vitro &amp; in vivo

Factors Associated with 30-Day in-Hospital Mortality Among Patients Admitted with Severe Covid-19 in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital

Andrew Mutekanga,1,&ast; Edwin Nuwagira,1,&ast; Elias Kumbakumba,2 Victoria Nyaiteera,3 Stephen Asiimwe,4 Medal Gasumuni,5 Nelson Wandera,5 Robert Natumanya,5 Denis Akena,5 Siraje Senoga,1 Joseph Kyobe Kiwanuka,6 George Kateregga,6 Emmanuel Munyarugero,6 Fardous Charles Abeya,1 Paul Stephen Obwoya,1 Stephen Ttendo,6 Rose Muhindo1,&ast; 1Department of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 2Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 3Department of ENT, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 4Global Health Collaborative, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 5Department of Medicine, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda; 6Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Rose Muhindo, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda, Tel +256772406337, Email [email protected]: COVID-19 has created a burden on the healthcare system globally. Severe COVID-19 is linked with high hospital mortality. Data regarding 30-day in-hospital mortality and its factors has not been explored in southwestern Uganda.Methods: We carried out a retrospective, single-center cohort study, and included all in-patients with laboratory-confirmed, radiological, or clinical severe COVID-19 admitted between April 2020 and September 2021 at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH). Demographic, laboratory, treatment, and clinical outcome data were extracted from patients’ files. These data were described comparing survivors and non-survivors. We used logistic regression to explore the factors associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality.Results: Of the 283 patients with severe COVID-19 admitted at MRRH COVID-19 unit, 58.1% were male. The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) was 61± 17.4 years; there were no differences in mean age between survivors and non-survivors (59 ± 17.2 versus 64.4 ± 17.3, respectively, p=0.24) The median length of hospital stay was 7 (IQR 3– 10) days (non-survivors had a shorter median length of stay 5 (IQR 2– 9) days compared to the survivors; 8 (IQR 5– 11) days, p< 0.001. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (30.5%) and diabetes mellitus (30%). The overall 30-day in-hospital mortality was 134 of 279 (48%) mortality rate of 47,350× 105 with a standard error of 2.99%. The factors associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality were age: 65 years and above (aOR, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.24– 11.70; P =0.020) a neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio above 5 (aOR, 4.83; 95% CI, 1.53– 15.28; P =0.007) and oxygen requirement ≥ 15L/min (aOR, 15.80; 95% CI, 5.17– 48.25; P < 0.001).Conclusion: We found a high 30-day in-hospital mortality among patients with severe forms of COVID-19. The identified factors could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage of admission.Keywords: severe, COVID-19, 30-day in hospital mortalit