Khamati Shilabukha, PhD

Ebola continues to make its oscillatory journey across Africa uninterrupted since it was discovered in 1976 in two parallel outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo. From the Democratic Rebuplic of Congo to Liberia back to DRC and now in Uganda. It is not the first time it is coming to Uganda. In 2000 the disease killed over 200 people in Uganda. In 2014-16 it was the turn of West Africa where it killed in excess of 11,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, in the past couple of weeks (going back to somewhere early October 2022) Uganda has reported a total of 130 cases, 43 of them fatal. That makes for a 33% case fatality rate from lab-confirmed cases which is an increase from a case fatality rate of 28% a week earlier. Before it was reported, it is suspected that the virus may have been circulating for as long as three weeks. The outbreak involves the rarer Sudan Ebola strain, for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines. Apart from deaths in the general population, health care workers have been affected too. At least 11 healthcare workers have been infected (of whom four have succumbed). Additionally, there are other individuals who died before any samples could be taken but were linked to confirmed cases. It is quite possible that these deaths were due to Ebola. But, there are also recoveries. Public health officials must move to put in place measures that prevent further spread of this highly fatal disease. It is worrying enough that cases have been reported in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest concentration of people in the country. This worry was captured in WHO's Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus when he said: "Although these cases are linked to known clusters, the very fact that there are cases in a densely populated city underscores the very real risk of further transmission, and the very urgent need for increased readiness in districts and surrounding countries." (WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus, Nov, 2022) Consider this. In Kampala (which is worrying due to a large concentration of a highly mobile population) 13 cases recently reported were linked to a man who previously died of the disease.

The termination finish of Small Output Integrated Circuit (SOIC) and Small Output Transistor (SOT) chip components were converted from Pb-free to Sn-Pb (backward conversion) and vice versa (forward conversion). The motivation for these conversions is due to a combination of factors such as the supply chain constraints on component availability, European Union’s (EU) legislation on “Restriction of Hazardous Substances” (or RoHS), and the growth of tin whiskers on matte tin finish components. The conversions were performed using a “Robotic Stripping and Solder Dipping Process”, and the mechanical reliability of the converted components was evaluated through lead pull testing. In this experiment, a 100% (all finishes are given in weight percentage unless otherwise specified) matte tin finish was first stripped and re-plated with an eutectic Sn-Pb finish. Then, components with 100% matte tin and eutectic Sn-Pb termination finish were replaced with a Pb-free Sn-3.5%Ag-0.5%Cu (SAC305) fin...

Brucellosis is a priority zoonotic disease in Tanzania that causes ill-health in people and affects livestock productivity. Inadequate awareness and behavior risking transmission can impede control efforts. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 333 livestock owners in three villages in the Kilombero district, Tanzania, to understand their awareness, knowledge and behavior associated with brucellosis. Six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), two in each village, were conducted, as well as an additional FGD with male herders from one of the villages. Factors associated with knowledge on brucellosis, food consumption and animal husbandry behavior risking transmission of this disease, were identified using generalized linear models. Predictors for knowledge of brucellosis were being male and having a higher educational level, while age was positively associated with a higher level of knowledge. Faith and ethnicity were associated with the performance of practices risking transmission. Fol...

ABSTRACT Indigenous knowledge, bio-diversity, technology and economic values: Rethinking the link Abstract The relationship between society/culture and nature/biodiversity lies behind much of the discussions on the relevance of indigenous knowledge in the contemporary world. This distinction has been used by anthropologists and others to mark out the gap between human and non-human worlds. However, this has often led to the predatory perception that nature is alien and inimical to human progress and economic advancement. This, usually, is in contrast with many indigenous people’s concept of nature which is dialectic and holistic as opposed to dualistic. These people do not usually view nature as a totalizing non-human phenomenon. To them, what the Western world views as nature, actually belongs to the realm of social relations. Thus the relationship between indigenous people and biological diversity is not only of form but also of content. Indigenous views of the environment are not only conceptualized formally, but also appear in their linguistic expressions of the environmental ---social metaphors. This means that knowledge is not only a cerebral activity, but it is also bound up in practical activity and technological systems reflecting both collective and long-term observation. In this paper I wish to report on the relationship between culture and natural resources management in relation to technology and trade. The paper argues that, where as one can see a marked variety of the socio-political and cultural aspects of value in all people, it is impossible to presume that values will be systematized in the same way. Indeed, indigenous people frequently find themselves clashing with distinction between economic and moral values. This is to show that knowledge is manifest in techniques as well as in perceiving, utilizing and managing resources. Furthermore, sustain ability in indigenous production methods is a consequence of practical knowledge that embodies sustainable principle. Unfortunately, in Africa and elsewhere in regions where indigenous people are operand, territories have been devastated by advanced by technologies driven by unsustainable economic and trade equations. The main conclusion arrived is that placing of value on biodiversity or resources is one issue on which people often fail to compromise. The economic world deals the present moment and what can be used in order to reap maximum from a given project. This is the dominant approach and it has largely spread in science, technology, economics, trade and industry. It high time indigenous values incorporated into the mainstream of resources management and planning.

Febrile diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa cause acute and chronic illness. Co-infections are common and these diseases have a complex etiology that includes zoonoses. For the implementation of appropriate treatment and control strategies, determinants of lay treatment-seeking behavior by the affected communities need to be understood. The objective of this study was to explore, using the socio-ecological model, the determinants of treatment-seeking actions among self-identified febrile illness cases in the Kilombero District of Tanzania. Thirty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 men and 11 women in three villages in Kilombero district. These villages were purposively selected due to malaria endemicity in the area, animal husbandry practices, and proximity to livestock-wildlife interaction, all risk factors for contracting febrile zoonotic infections. Thematic analysis was conducted on the interviews to identify the key determinants of treatment-seeking actions. Study parti...

Indigenous knowledge, bio-diversity, technology and economic values: Rethinking the link Abstract The relationship between society/culture and nature/biodiversity lies behind much of the discussions on the relevance of indigenous knowledge in the contemporary world. This distinction has been used by anthropologists and others to mark out the gap between human and non-human worlds. However, this has often led to the predatory perception that nature is alien and inimical to human progress and economic advancement. This, usually, is in contrast with many indigenous people’s concept of nature which is dialectic and holistic as opposed to dualistic. These people do not usually view nature as a totalizing non-human phenomenon. To them, what the Western world views as nature, actually belongs to the realm of social relations. Thus the relationship between indigenous people and biological diversity is not only of form but also of content. Indigenous views of the environment are not only con...

ABSTRACT Indigenous knowledge, bio-diversity, technology and economic values: Rethinking the link Abstract The relationship between society/culture and nature/biodiversity lies behind much of the discussions on the relevance of indigenous knowledge in the contemporary world. This distinction has been used by anthropologists and others to mark out the gap between human and non-human worlds. However, this has often led to the predatory perception that nature is alien and inimical to human progress and economic advancement. This, usually, is in contrast with many indigenous people’s concept of nature which is dialectic and holistic as opposed to dualistic. These people do not usually view nature as a totalizing non-human phenomenon. To them, what the Western world views as nature, actually belongs to the realm of social relations. Thus the relationship between indigenous people and biological diversity is not only of form but also of content. Indigenous views of the environment are not only conceptualized formally, but also appear in their linguistic expressions of the environmental ---social metaphors. This means that knowledge is not only a cerebral activity, but it is also bound up in practical activity and technological systems reflecting both collective and long-term observation. In this paper I wish to report on the relationship between culture and natural resources management in relation to technology and trade. The paper argues that, where as one can see a marked variety of the socio-political and cultural aspects of value in all people, it is impossible to presume that values will be systematized in the same way. Indeed, indigenous people frequently find themselves clashing with distinction between economic and moral values. This is to show that knowledge is manifest in techniques as well as in perceiving, utilizing and managing resources. Furthermore, sustain ability in indigenous production methods is a consequence of practical knowledge that embodies sustainable principle. Unfortunately, in Africa and elsewhere in regions where indigenous people are operand, territories have been devastated by advanced by technologies driven by unsustainable economic and trade equations. The main conclusion arrived is that placing of value on biodiversity or resources is one issue on which people often fail to compromise. The economic world deals the present moment and what can be used in order to reap maximum from a given project. This is the dominant approach and it has largely spread in science, technology, economics, trade and industry. It high time indigenous values incorporated into the mainstream of resources management and planning.

Female genital cutting (FGC), sometimes referred to as female circumcision (FC), is a traditional practice, usually performed on children, adolescents and some adult women. FGC involves three procedures: the removal of the tip of the clitoris; the total removal of the clitoris and surrounding labia; or infibulation, where the clitoris and the labia are removed and the vagina is sewn up, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood. The extent of genital cutting and stitching, however, varies considerably from community to community and from country to country. Very often the operation is performed by a layperson with limited knowledge of anatomy and surgical techniques. The procedure can thus be painful, because it is often conducted without the use of any anesthesia.

The Tiriki are part of the eighteen or so linguistically related sub-tribes of the Bantuspeaking Luyia people of western Kenya. They are found in the formerly larger Kakamega area and are closely related to the Isukha and Idakho people of Shinyalu and Ikolomani divisions, respectively. This community, like the Bukusu in the far north region of the Luyia territory, is renowned for its adherence to cultural traditions. Like their Bukusu counterparts,