Project Communication a Dimension for Improved Project Performance: The Case of Selected Public University Projects

Achieving successful project performance is still a challenge in Uganda, though it can be improved through proper Project communication which clarifies project task and enables stakeholders to be wholly involved in the projects.  However, despite the importance of project communication many projects in higher institutions have not performed to their expectations. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between project communication and project performance in Public Universities in Uganda. A cross sectional survey design was used in this study to provide an in-depth investigation of the relationship between the variables. In order to achieve the objectives, a correlation design was adopted to determine relationships between different variables and the questionnaires were formed on that basis. Quantitative data was collected and analyzed and study results revealed a positive significant relationship between project communication and project performance (r = 0.577**, p<0.01) which implies that when communication increases project performance is enhanced. Keywords: communication, performance, Kampala, communication network

Plants used to manage type II diabetes mellitus in selected districts of central Uganda.

Background: Chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus are increasing in incidence in sub-Saharan Africa. African traditional medicine is part and parcel of the health care system in Uganda. Majority of the indigenous population will have visited a traditional health care practioner or self-administered herbal medicines before seeking conventional health care. However, documentation of the various medicinal plants is still lacking, necessitating a well-organized information search for such knowledge through research. Such information can lay a firm and clear foundation for scientific investigation of the purported therapeutic benefits of the said plants. The objective of this study was to collect names of medicinal plants used to manage diabetes mellitus type II in selected districts of central Uganda.Methods: In this ethnobotanical survey, names, of plants used to manage diabetes mellitus type II as well as the methods of preparation, routes of administration and the plant parts used in the districts of Mukono, Kampala, Wakiso and Masaka in the central region of Uganda were documented using a researcher administered questionnaire. Participants were recruited using a snow ball approach in which one individual directed us to another. Informant consensus was determined for each of the plants mentioned.Results: A total of 18 names of medicinal plants were recorded of which Aloe vera var, Solanum indicum and Vernonia amygydalina were the most commonly mentioned plants and thus had the highest informant consensus. Leaves were the main parts that were used to prepare the herbal medicine while water as the solvent used in all the preparations. In all the cases, only the oral route was used for administration of the medicines.Conclusion: Documentation of medicinal plants used to manage diabetes can further improve on the formalization process of the Ugandan traditional medicine system as well as lay a basis for further scientific investigation with emphasis on the plants whose informant consensus is high.Key words: Medicinal Plants, diabetes mellitus, Ugand

On farm testing of integrated nutrient management strategies in Eastern Uganda

This paper reports on a Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) process that was initiated in three villages in eastern Uganda in September 1999 to enable small-scale farmers to reverse nutrient depletion of their soils profitably by increasing their capacity to develop, adapt and use integrated natural resource management strategies. The PLAR process was also used to improve the participatory skills and tools of research and extension personnel to support this process. The farming systems of the area were characterised for socio-economic and biophysical conditions that included social organisations, wealth categories, gender, crop, soil, agro forestry and livestock production. Farmers identified soil fertility constraints, their indicators, and causes of soil fertility decline, and suggested strategies to address the problem of soil fertility decline. Soil fertility management diversity among households indicated that most farmers were not carrying out any improved soil fertility management practices, despite previous research and dissemination in the area. Following the diagnosis stage and exposure visits to other farmer groups working on integrated soil fertility projects, the farmers designed 11 experiments for on-farm testing. One hundred and twenty farmers then chose, for participatory technology development, sub-sets of these 11 experiments, based on the major agricultural constraints and the potential solutions identified and prioritised by the farmers. Quantitative and qualitative results from the testing, farmer evaluation and adaptation, training, dissemination strategies and socio-economic implications of these technologies are discussed

Microfabrication and Applications of Opto-Microfluidic Sensors

A review of research activities on opto-microfluidic sensors carried out by the research groups in Canada is presented. After a brief introduction of this exciting research field, detailed discussion is focused on different techniques for the fabrication of opto-microfluidic sensors, and various applications of these devices for bioanalysis, chemical detection, and optical measurement. Our current research on femtosecond laser microfabrication of optofluidic devices is introduced and some experimental results are elaborated. The research on opto-microfluidics provides highly sensitive opto-microfluidic sensors for practical applications with significant advantages of portability, efficiency, sensitivity, versatility, and low cost

Development of an efficient reproducible cell-cell transmission assay for rapid quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Spike interaction with hACE2

We describe herein a novel SARS-CoV-2 cell-cell transmission assay we developed which provides a very rapid and quantitative readout to assess SARS-CoV-2 Spike-hACE2 interaction in the absence of using pseudotyped particles or live virus. We have established two well-behaved stable cell lines which have demonstrated a remarkable correlation with standard cell-free viral pseudotyping for inhibition by convalescent sera, post-vaccine sera, small molecule drugs, and murine anti-spike monoclonal antibodies. The assay is very rapid, reliable, and highly reproducible, without a requirement for any specialized research reagents or laboratory equipment and should be easy to adapt for use in most investigative and clinical settings. It can be effectively used or modified for high throughput screening for compounds and biologics that interfere with virus-cell binding and entry to complement other neutralization assays currently in use.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Development of a Novel Cell-Cell Transmission Assay for SARS-CoV-2

We describe herein a novel SARS-CoV-2 cell-cell transmission assay we developed which provides a very rapid and quantitative readout to assess SARS-CoV-2 Spike-hACE2 interaction in the absence of using pseudotyped particles or live virus. We have established two well-behaved stable cell lines which have demonstrated a remarkable correlation with standard cell-free viral pseudotyping for inhibition by convalescent sera, post-vaccine sera, small molecule drugs, and murine anti-spike monoclonal antibodies. The assay is very rapid, reliable, and highly reproducible, without a requirement for any specialized research reagents or laboratory equipment and should be easy to adapt for use in most investigative and clinical settings. It can be effectively used or modified for high throughput screening for compounds and biologics that interfere with virus-cell binding and entry to complement other neutralization assays currently in use.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Electrochemical fabrication of microfluidic networks in carbon substrates

NRC publication: Ye

A glassy carbon microfluidic device for electrospray mass spectrometry

Due to the broad impact of microfabrication technology on chemistry and biology, new methods to pattern and etch a variety of materials are being explored in a number of laboratories. Here, we report the design, fabrication, and operation of a glassy carbon (GC) microchip interfaced to a nanoelectrospray ionization source and a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method involves standard photolithographic pattern transfer to a photoresist layer and anodization of the exposed GC substrate in basic electrolyte to produce a series of channels with well-defined wall structure. The performance of the microchip was evaluated with standard polymer and peptide samples.NRC publication: N