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This paper explores the preference for indigenous medicinal plant medicine in Buliisa district, situated in the Albertine Graben. Despite attempts to improve access to conventional health services, there seems to be a preference for alternative medicine from medicinal plants. The specific objectives included examining the forms of indigenous herbal medicine, how they are administered and passed on from generation to generation, preservation challenges and mitigation measures. The study utilises a multidisciplinary approach by using archaeological transect walks, oral interviews with 50 herbalists, observation of the administration of herbal medicine, focus group discussions, and documentary review to collect data. Four hundred and seventy-seven medicinal plant sites were marked using a hand-held Global Positioning System at 80 locations. The results revealed that all plant parts are used for treatment as either independent parts or combined and often with other plant types. The most commonly used medicinal plant parts are the leaves. Buliisa medicinal plants cure various diseases, but the most common ones are sterility, sexually transmitted infections, high blood pressure, back pain, eye diseases, external body injuries, poisoning, and nose bleeding. In addition, treatment for aspects such as luck and spiritually related ailments are also handled. Though the harvesting poses a key conservation challenge, the secrecy embedded in the transmission of indigenous knowledge, education, Christianity and oil exploration is each equally a threat. The study recommends that since most herbal medicines have no overdose, there is a need to undertake more research to document the dosage and side-effects of using medicinal plants and compile a red list of the endangered species. The study has implications for the knowledge and development of herbal indigenous medicinal plants.

Population history-focused DNA and ancient DNA (aDNA) research in Africa has dramatically increased in the past decade, enabling increasingly fine-scale investigations into the continent's past. However, while international interest in human genomics research in Africa grows, major structural barriers limit the ability of African scholars to lead and engage in such research and impede local communities from partnering with researchers and benefitting from research outcomes. Because conversations about research on African people and their past are often held outside Africa and exclude African voices, an important step for African DNA and aDNA research is moving these conversations to the continent. In May 2023 we held the DNAirobi workshop in Nairobi, Kenya and here we synthesize what emerged most prominently in our discussions. We propose an ideal vision for population history-focused DNA and aDNA research in Africa in ten years' time and acknowledge that to realize this future, we need to chart a path connecting a series of "landmarks" that represent points of consensus in our discussions. These include effective communication across multiple audiences, reframed relationships and capacity building, and action toward structural changes that support science and beyond. We concluded there is no single path to creating an equitable and self-sustaining research ecosystem, but rather many possible routes linking these landmarks. Here we share our diverse perspectives as geneticists, anthropologists, archaeologists, museum curators, and educators to articulate challenges and opportunities for African DNA and aDNA research and share an initial map toward a more inclusive and equitable future., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Between 2015 and 2050, the aging population of Uganda (aged 50 years and older) will be nearly doubled. Therefore, later-life problems have become an area of increasing research and policy interest. This study aimed at exploring how aging people living in extreme poverty in a low-income country experience their everyday life and what kind of meaning systems employed by them to understand and cope with their living conditions. Methods: We conducted a qualitative interview with 14 participants in the Buikwe district. In this interview, 11 women and 3 men were included, and a thematic analysis was employed for data processing and analysis. Results: Unanimously, all participants reported their condition as extreme poverty. The key informants (KIs) emphasized respect from descendants and the community as a foundation for a meaningful later life. In contrast, this aspect has been ever mentioned by no caregivers but by only one care-receiver. The willingness/ability of children to support the elderly who are in need of support formed a major part of the reflections of care-receivers, which would be decisive for their position in the society and the respect they would receive. In addition, both Christianity and traditional beliefs as well as beliefs in witchcraft and ancestral spirits were employed as a basis for actions and reflections. Discussion: The question arises whether life in extreme poverty conditions can be perceived as meaningful. Respect was mentioned as fundamental by the KIs, thereby giving priority to social relations as the most meaningful factor for living a meaningful life. The ability and willingness of the possible descendants for support as the focus of care-receivers might be a more down-to-earth description of this aspect but without using the same level of abstraction. For the majority, due to their belief system did not serve as a source of consolation their main focus was on social relationships for support. To improve the wellbeing of the old people, their sense of meaning must be restored through a system, guaranteeing the coverage of basic needs and measures to restore dignity through a reintegration in both community and congregations. Social service agencies who are targeting the elderly people need to work toward this objective., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Knizek, Vancampfort, Kwiringira, Kyazike and Mugisha.)

In the 12,000 years preceding the Industrial Revolution, human activities led to significant changes in land cover, plant and animal distributions, surface hydrology, and biochemical cycles. Earth system models suggest that this anthropogenic land cover change influenced regional and global climate. However, the representation of past land use in earth system models is currently oversimplified. As a result, there are large uncertainties in the current understanding of the past and current state of the earth system. In order to improve representation of the variety and scale of impacts that past land use had on the earth system, a global effort is underway to aggregate and synthesize archaeological and historical evidence of land use systems. Here we present a simple, hierarchical classification of land use systems designed to be used with archaeological and historical data at a global scale and a schema of codes that identify land use practices common to a range of systems, both implemented in a geospatial database. The classification scheme and database resulted from an extensive process of consultation with researchers worldwide. Our scheme is designed to deliver consistent, empirically robust data for the improvement of land use models, while simultaneously allowing for a comparative, detailed mapping of land use relevant to the needs of historical scholars. To illustrate the benefits of the classification scheme and methods for mapping historical land use, we apply it to Mesopotamia and Arabia at 6 kya (c. 4000 BCE). The scheme will be used to describe land use by the Past Global Changes (PAGES) LandCover6k working group, an international project comprised of archaeologists, historians, geographers, paleoecologists, and modelers. Beyond this, the scheme has a wide utility for creating a common language between research and policy communities, linking archaeologists with climate modelers, biodiversity conservation workers and initiatives., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.