Variations in antimalarial components of Artemisia annua Linn from three regions of Uganda

Introduction: Artemisia annua plant from the family Asteracea is a powerful antimalarial plant  introduced to Uganda around 2003. In addition to the artemisinin component, the plant also contains  flavonoids which work in synergy to artemisinin against malaria parasites. The plant also contains  aromatic oils which repel mosquitoes. In this paper we report the variations in antimalarial components of A. annua samples from the regions cultivating it in Uganda.Methods: Artemisia annua samples were obtained from three regions that cultivated the plant at the time of this study. The samples were brought to laboratory, authenticated and processed. The levels of artemisinin, total flavonoids and aromatic components were quantified using high performance thin layer chromatography, ultra violet spectrophotometry and gas chromatography respectively.Results: Artemisinin and total flavonoids levels were higher in samples obtained from high land areas (western and south western region) compared to that obtained from lowland regions (central) i.e 0.8% Vs 0.4% and 2.6% Vs 1.5% respectively. The aromatic oils (mosquito repellent components) were similar with camphor component being highest and levels ranging from 75.4% to 79.0%.Conclusion: Our findings show that the active components in Artemisia annua cultivated and used in the  Uganda vary with geographical regions and this calls for standardisation by source.Key words: Variations, Antimalarial components, Artemisia annua, Ugand

Antimalarial Activity of Some Plants Used in Traditional Medicine in Uganda

This work was done to identify some of the plants used in the treatment of malaria in Uganda and to investigate their efficacy in the in-vitro assays. Plumbago zeylenica and Cryptolepis sanguinolenta showed marked activity on the chloroquine resistant and chloroquine sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Plumbagin, a quinone, was isolated from Plumbago zeylenica, and found to have antimalarial activity with IC50 of 178 ng/ml on chloroquine sensitive and 188 ng/ml on chloroquine resistant strains. Cytotoxicity assays on KB cell lines indicated that the extract was selective for Plasmodium falciparum. The Selective Index was 5 in both strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It was concluded that some of the plants used for malaria contain compounds with antimalarial activity, which can be useful leads for the development of new antimalarial drugs. Key Words: Antimalarial activity, Plumbago zeylenica, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, plumbagin East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.5(2) 2002: 33-3

Capturing Hiproofs in HOL Light

Hierarchical proof trees (hiproofs for short) add structure to ordinary proof trees, by allowing portions of trees to be hierarchically nested. The additional structure can be used to abstract away from details, or to label particular portions to explain their purpose. In this paper we present two complementary methods for capturing hiproofs in HOL Light, along with a tool to produce web-based visualisations. The first method uses tactic recording, by modifying tactics to record their arguments and construct a hierarchical tree; this allows a tactic proof script to be modified. The second method uses proof recording, which extends the HOL Light kernel to record hierachical proof trees alongside theorems. This method is less invasive, but requires care to manage the size of the recorded objects. We have implemented both methods, resulting in two systems: Tactician and HipCam

Matching concepts across HOL libraries

Many proof assistant libraries contain formalizations of the same mathematical concepts. The concepts are often introduced (defined) in different ways, but the properties that they have, and are in turn formalized, are the same. For the basic concepts, like natural numbers, matching them between libraries is often straightforward, because of mathematical naming conventions. However, for more advanced concepts, finding similar formalizations in different libraries is a non-trivial task even for an expert. In this paper we investigate automatic discovery of similar concepts across libraries of proof assistants. We propose an approach for normalizing properties of concepts in formal libraries and a number of similarity measures. We evaluate the approach on HOL based proof assistants HOL4, HOL Light and Isabelle/HOL, discovering 398 pairs of isomorphic constants and types

Sharing HOL4 and HOL Light proof knowledge

New proof assistant developments often involve concepts similar to already formalized ones. When proving their properties, a human can often take inspiration from the existing formalized proofs available in other provers or libraries. In this paper we propose and evaluate a number of methods, which strengthen proof automation by learning from proof libraries of different provers. Certain conjectures can be proved directly from the dependencies induced by similar proofs in the other library. Even if exact correspondences are not found, learning-reasoning systems can make use of the association between proved theorems and their characteristics to predict the relevant premises. Such external help can be further combined with internal advice. We evaluate the proposed knowledge-sharing methods by reproving the HOL Light and HOL4 standard libraries. The learning-reasoning system HOL(y)Hammer, whose single best strategy could automatically find proofs for 30% of the HOL Light problems, can prove 40% with the knowledge from HOL4

A Vernacular for Coherent Logic

We propose a simple, yet expressive proof representation from which proofs for different proof assistants can easily be generated. The representation uses only a few inference rules and is based on a frag- ment of first-order logic called coherent logic. Coherent logic has been recognized by a number of researchers as a suitable logic for many ev- eryday mathematical developments. The proposed proof representation is accompanied by a corresponding XML format and by a suite of XSL transformations for generating formal proofs for Isabelle/Isar and Coq, as well as proofs expressed in a natural language form (formatted in LATEX or in HTML). Also, our automated theorem prover for coherent logic exports proofs in the proposed XML format. All tools are publicly available, along with a set of sample theorems.Comment: CICM 2014 - Conferences on Intelligent Computer Mathematics (2014

An assessment of Makerere University College of Health Sciences: optimizing health research capacity to meet Uganda’s priorities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health research is critical to the institutional mission of the Makerere College of Health Sciences (MakCHS). Optimizing the alignment of health research capacity at MakCHS with the health needs and priorities of Uganda, as outlined in the country’s Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP), is a deliberate priority, a responsibility, and a significant opportunity for research. To guide this strategic direction, an assessment of MakCHS’s research grants and publication portfolio was conducted.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A survey of all new and ongoing grants, as well as all publications, between January 2005 and December 2009 was conducted. Research, training, and education grants awarded to MakCHS’ constituent faculties and departments, were looked for through financial records at the college or by contact with funding organizations. Published manuscripts registered with PubMed, that included MakCHS faculty authors, were also analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 58 active grants were identified, of which 18 had been initiated prior to 2005 and there were an average of about eight new grants per year. Most grants funded basic and applied research, with major focus areas being HIV/AIDS (44%), malaria (19%), maternal and child health (14%), tuberculosis (11%), mental health (3%), and others (8%). MakCHS faculty were identified as Principal Investigators (PIs) in only 22 (38%) active grants. Grant funding details were only available for one third of the active grants at MakCHS. A total of 837 publications were identified, with an average of 167 publications per year, most of which (66%) addressed the country’s priority health areas, and 58% had MakCHS faculty or students as first authors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The research grants and publications at MakCHS are generally well-aligned with the Ugandan Health Ministry priorities. Greater efforts to establish centralized and efficient grants management procedures are needed. In addition, greater efforts are needed to expand capacity for MakCHS faculty leadership of grants, as well as to continue to expand the contribution of MakCHS faculty to lead research publications.</p

Sublingual misoprostol versus intramuscular oxytocin for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in Uganda: a double-blind randomized non-inferiority trial

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal death in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the World Health Organization recommends use of oxytocin for prevention of PPH, misoprostol use is increasingly common owing to advantages in shelf life and potential for sublingual administration. There is a lack of data about the comparative efficacy of oxytocin and sublingual misoprostol, particularly at the recommended dose of 600 mu g, for prevention of PPH during active management of labor. Methods and Findings: We performed a double-blind, double-dummy randomized controlled non-inferiority trial between 23 September 2012 and 9 September 2013 at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda. We randomized 1,140 women to receive 600 mu g of misoprostol sublingually or 10 IU of oxytocin intramuscularly, along with matching placebos for the treatment they did not receive. Our primary outcome of interest was PPH, defined as measured blood loss >= 500 ml within 24 h of delivery. Secondary outcomes included measured blood loss >= 1,000 ml; mean measured blood loss at 1, 2, and 24 h after delivery; death; requirement for blood transfusion; hemoglobin changes; and use of additional uterotonics. At 24 h postpartum, primary PPH occurred in 163 (28.6%) participants in the misoprostol group and 99 (17.4%) participants in the oxytocin group (relative risk [RR] 1.64, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.05, p<0.001; absolute risk difference 11.2%, 95% CI 6.44 to 16.1). Severe PPH occurred in 20 (3.6%) and 15 (2.7%) participants in the misoprostol and oxytocin groups, respectively (RR 1.33, 95% CI 0.69 to 2.58, p = 0.391; absolute risk difference 0.9%, 95% CI -1.12 to 2.88). Mean measured blood loss was 341.5 ml (standard deviation [SD] 206.2) and 304.2 ml (SD 190.8, p = 0.002) at 2 h and 484.7 ml (SD 213.3) and 432.8 ml (SD 203.5, p<0.001) at 24 h in the misoprostol and oxytocin groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups in any other secondary outcomes. Women in the misoprostol group more commonly experienced shivering (RR 1.91, 95% CI 1.65 to 2.21, p<0.001) and fevers (RR 5.20, 95% CI 3.15 to 7.21, p = 0.005). This study was conducted at a regional referral hospital with capacity for emergency surgery and blood transfusion. High-risk women were excluded from participation. Conclusions: Misoprostol 600 mu g is inferior to oxytocin 10 IU for prevention of primary PPH in active management of labor. These data support use of oxytocin in settings where it is available. While not powered to do so, the study found no significant differences in rate of severe PPH, need for blood transfusion, postpartum hemoglobin, change in hemoglobin, or use of additional uterotonics between study groups. Further research should focus on clarifying whether and in which sub-populations use of oxytocin would be preferred over sublingual misoprostol

Multiple ART Programs Create a Dilemma for Providers to Monitor ARV Adherence in Uganda

Background: Increased availability and accessibility of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved the length and quality of life amongst people living with HIV/AIDS. This has changed the landscape for care from episodic to longterm care that requires more monitoring of adherence. This has led to increased demand on human resources, a major problem for most ART programs. This paper presents experiences and perspectives of providersin ART facilities, exploring the organizational factors affecting their capacity to monitor adherence to ARVs. Methods: From an earlier survey to test adherence indicators and rank facilities as good, medium or poor adherence performances, six facilities were randomly selected, two from each rank. Observations on facility set-up, provider-patient interactions and key informant interviews were carried out. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats identified by health workers as facilitators or barriers to their capacity to monitor adherence to ARVs were explored during group discussions. Results: Findings show that the performance levels of the facilities were characterized by four different organizational ARTprograms operating in Uganda, with apparent lack of integration and coordination at the facilities. Of the six facilities studied, the two highadherence performing facilities were Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) programs, while facilities with dual organizational programs(Governmental/NGO) performed poorly. Working conditions, record keeping and the duality of programs underscored the providers' capacity tomonitor adherence. Overall 70% of the observed provider-patient interactions were conducted in environments that ensured privacy of the patient. The mean performance for record keeping was 79% and 50% in the high and low performing facilities respectively. Providers often found it difficult to monitor adherence due to the conflicting demands from the different organizational ART programs. Conclusion: Organizational duality at facilities is a major factor in poor adherence monitoring. The different ART programs in Uganda need to be coordinated and integrated into a single well resourced program to improve ART services and adherence monitoring. The focus on long-term care of patients on ART requires that the limitations to providers' capacity for monitoring adherence become central during the planning and implementation of ART programs