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The Langmuir isotherms of 1-aminobutane in isohexane slurries showed increase in clay acidity with increase in concentration of mineral acid used to leach the clay as well as the temperature at which the clay was thermally activated prior to experimentation involving adsorption of 1-aminobutane. The values of acidity for Central Uganda were low ranging from 0.07 mol/g to 0.32 mol/g yet those for clays from Eastern Uganda were high ranging from 0.1mol/g to 1.85mol/g. Basing on acidity, pH, elemental and mineral compositions, the clays from Central Uganda were found to be kaolinites or halloysites yet Eastern Uganda clays were resolved to contain nontronite and kaolinite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decrease in content of iron in the bleached oils was highest for all oils bleached. The content of copper showed the smallest change. The decrease in copper content for palm oils decreased from 0.2ppm to 0.1ppm when bleached with both Kajansi and Chelel clays which had be leached in 20% acid. The content of copper in cotton oils decreased from 0.5ppm to 0.15ppm using Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid yet when Chelel clay leached under similar conditions was used decrease was from 0.5 to 0.1ppm. Similarly, the content of iron in cotton oils bleached using Kajansi clay decreased from 2.5 to 0.2 yet that bleached using Chelel clay decreased to 0.1ppm. The content of iron in sunflower oils bleached using Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid decreased from 1.6 to 0.2ppm yet that bleached with Chelel clay under similar conditions decreased to 0.1ppm. The acid values showed that the acidity in sunflower oils is largely due to oleic acid as the average value for acids is in the range close to oleic acid, cotton-seed oil corresponded to linoleic acid. The levels of free fatty acid were found to lie in range from 3.8-3.2 for all clays used showing no significant rise. The peroxide values of bleached oils lay between 1.2 and 0.8 showing that freshly bleached oils were fit for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of recycled clays to bleach oils measured by decrease in absorbance of bleached oils was largest when recycled clays had been calcined at 450°C and leached in boiling mixture of 20% acid strength for 16 hours. The Langmuir constant a varied from 0.4x10-2 to 16 x10-2 and b increased from 4.7x10-2 to 95.38x10-2. The Freundlich constant n increased from 8x10-3 to 33x10-3 and k from 3.9x10-2 to 11.8 x10-2 as concentration of acid increased. The enthalpy of adsorption increased from -6.7x10-2 to 22.2x10-2 kJmol-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of recycled clays to bleach oils measured by decrease in absorbance of bleached oils was largest when recycled clays had been calcined at 450oC and leached in boiling mixture of 20% acid strength for 16 hours. The Langmuir constant a varied from 0.4x10-2 to 16 x10-2 and b increased from 4.7x10-2 to 95.38x10-2. The Freundlich constant n increased from 8x10-3 to 33x10-3 and k from 3.9x10-2 to 11.8 x10-2 as concentration of acid increased. The enthalpy of adsorption increased from -6.7x10-2 to 22.2x10-2 kJmol-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa,C.F.Gaertn) is an indigenous fruit tree distributed in the shea parklands of Africa. The shea fruit is an important source of food for rural communities especially at time of food shortages, hunger and other disasters in addition to providing enormous health benefit and income. Because of its role in combating food insecurity and sustaining rural livelihoods, an assessment of the nutritional composition of shea fruit pulp was carried out in Uganda. Samples of shea fruits were collected from Katakwi, Lira, Pader and Arua districts in Teso, Lango, Acholi and West Nile sub regions in Uganda, respectively, between April and August 2007. For each district, a composite shea fruit sample was analysed for moisture content, total ash, crude oil, crude fibre, crude protein, vitamin C, carbohydrates and calorific values. The mineral composition was analysed for calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and iron. The total ash, crude oil, crude fibre, crude protein, total carbohydrate, vitamin C and caloric values ranged between 3.6-5.9%, 1.5-3.5%, 10-15%, 3.1-4.2%, 12.4-19.4%, 85.6-124.9mg/100g and 77.6-89.2 Kcal/100g, respectively (dry weight basis). Ca, K, Mg, Na and Fe values in the pulp ranged from 35.2-95.6 mg/100g, 42.0-63.6 mg/100g, 18.1-24.2mg/100g, 7.1-18.1mg/100gm and 3.4-3.8 mg/100g, respectively. There was a significant variation (P≤0.05) in the crude proteins, crude fibre, Vitamin C values and mineral compositions of the shea fruit pulp from the different shea sub-regions in Uganda. These variations could be due to differences in prevailing environmental factors. The results show clearly that shea fruit pulp has adequate nutrients equivalent to other edible fruits and should be promoted in human nutrition. Its Na/K ratio (0.14-0.35) also makes the shea fruit a valuable resource for managing high blood pressure; an emerging non-communicable disease in most developing countries. To promote wide consumption of shea fruits, the influence of environmental factors and season of harvest on its nutritional composition needs to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shea oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.). It constitutes an important source of fat in food and cosmetics. Although shea oil can be marketed both locally and internationally, increasing demand worldwide for exportable products calls for their certification. Characterization of shea oil is one step towards developing its certification system. In this study, the physico-chemical characteristics of shea oil in different shea zones of Uganda were assessed. Samples of shea fruits were collected between the months of June-August 2007 in the districts of Pader, Lira, Katakwi and Arua representing Acholi, Lango, Teso, and West Nile shea zones, respectively. Seed oil was extracted by Soxhlet apparatus using n-hexane solvent and analysed for colour, refractive index, viscosity, oil content, acid value, peroxide value, saponification value, iodine value, α-tocopherols and fatty acid profile. Shea oil content, colour, refractive index and viscosity ranged from 41-54%, orange to orange-yellow, 1.670-1.690 and 2.4-2.8 cP, respectively. Acid and peroxide values ranged between 2.3-12.59 mgKOH/kg and 2.10 to 2.50 meq/kg, respectively. Saponification, iodine and α- tocopherols values were between 160 mgKOH/g and 192mgKOH/g, 39.21 I2g/100 and 41.37 I2g/100g and 26.3-44.4 mg/100g, respectively. Fatty acid profile for palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and arachidic fatty acids ranged between 6.52-8.12%, 28.65-30.94%, 55.54-57.63%, 6.18-7.79% and 0.65-0.90%, respectively. Although there was significant variation in the oil yield (P≤0.05), the physico-chemical characteristic and fatty acid profile showed no significant variation in the shea zones of Uganda (P≤0.05). The fact that physico-chemical characteristics of shea oil from the different shea zones of Uganda are comparable to other high value edible vegetable oils indicates its suitability as raw material for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. This characterization is a bench mark for monitoring the quality of shea oil from Uganda and can be used to enhance its local and international trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnographers are often sceptical of employing Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) tools in their research, calling them 'a quick and dirty' approach. However, ethnography has limitations as a research method. We therefore combined the two methods to enhance their strengths. Based on fieldwork in rural Gambia, this article discusses the procedure, merits and shortcomings of triangulating PRA and conventional ethnography methods to conduct research among an illiterate study population of traditional birth attendants. When tailored to suit the target study population, some PRA tools do enhance the emic perspective--thus empowering the study participants and making research results more context-relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 aimed at protecting the cherished culture of the people against emergent threats to the traditional heterosexual family. The Bill's justification, however, lay in myopic imaginings of a homogenous African-ness and pedestrian oblivion to pluralities within African sexualities. This paper revisits the debate that homosexuality is 'un-African'. Rhetoric analysis of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill exposes how dominant discourses of law, medicine, religion, geography and culture reinforce the view that homosexuality is foreign to Africa. Based on ethnography in contemporary Uganda, I explore how self-identified same-sex-loving individuals simultaneously claim their African-ness and their homosexuality. Their strategies include ethnic belonging, membership to kinship structures, making connections with pre-colonial histories of homosexuality, civic participation in democratic processes, national identity, organising of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning support groups, language and nomenclature, visibility and voice in local communal activities, solidarity and adherence to cultural rituals. In present-day Uganda, same-sex-loving men, women and transgender people variously assert their African-ness.

Studies of traditional birth attendants over-emphasise the health dimension. Based on ethnographic fieldwork (utilising participant observation, individual interviews, group discussions, participatory rapid appraisal, and literature review) in The Gambia, this paper discusses the multiplicity of the role(s) of TBAs in their communities. As general healthcare providers, 'mothers of the village', gurus of religious and socio-cultural rites, repositories of society's secrets, economic survivors, village leaders and elders, TBAs contribute to the 'gum that holds society together'. They actively engage in the political, economic, cultural, religious, gender, health and wellbeing of their societies. TBAs are important for social cohesion and welfare; not mere health practitioners. Reflections about TBAs open a window into understanding the wider rural Gambian society.

Sexuality is a platform upon which ideologies are enacted. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in The Gambia, this paper discusses the embodiment of racial myths about male Black bodies and Western affluence. Methods utilized included participant observation, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Beach-boys, locally called bumsters, are a common feature of the country's tourism. Societal attitudes to bumsters are ambivalent. Bumsters variously indulge in a complex web of sexual activity ranging from commercial to non-commercial, voluntary to socially-imposed, individual to peer-driven, heterosexual to homosexual, casual to regular, particularly with foreign tourists. Narratives about their sexuality reveal an enactment of myths about the male Black body and superior sexual performance on one hand, and images of plundered wealth sitting in 'the West'--a dream destination flowing with milk and honey, and physically represented by the toubab--a local label for White foreigners-on the other. This highly fantasized wealth forms the core of youth aspirations to travel abroad. Sexual activity with a toubab is the ticket out of Africa's inherent scarcity. Metaphors and idioms of unlimited virility and dynamic manhood are reinforced through sex tourism and form part of the identity of Gambian bumsters. These self-images reinstate and reinforce racial stereotypes.

Market trading requires access to cash, independent decision-making, mobility and social interaction. This study sought to explore whether market work empowers women with respect to spending decisions and negotiation over sex and condom-use. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 212 market women; and 12 focus group discussions and 52 in-depths interviews were conducted among market women in southwestern Uganda. Market women reported high levels of independence, mobility, assertiveness and social interaction. Access to cash was not synonymous with control over it, however. Spending decisions were limited by men's ability to selectively withdraw finances for expenditures central to women's concerns including household and children's needs. Trading in markets earns women masculine labels such as kiwagi, characterized variously as independent, rebellious and insubordinate. Earning money does not change expectations of correct behaviour for wives, making it difficult for women to initiate, deny sex or ask for condoms. Independence and income from market work may make it easier for women to enter and exit new sexual relationships. However, unable to protect themselves within partnerships, HIV risk may increase as a result.

In order to examine the sexual behaviour of a highly mobile social group, qualitative data and quantitative data were elicited from 212 private motorbike taxi-men, locally called bodabodamen, from two study sites in Masaka, Uganda. Selection criteria were availability and willingness to participate in the study. Research techniques employed were a questionnaire, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and case studies. Findings indicate that bodabodamen are a highly mobile group who engage in frequent seasonal rural-urban migration. Consequent to this, bodabodamen have a wide network of both occasional and regular sexual partnerships. Both serial and concurrent multiple partnerships are with adults, youths, widows, students, sugar-mummies, barmaids, commercial sex workers, tailors. Exchange plays a significant role in sexual negotiations but the act of giving to a sexual partner is ambivalent in its social interpretation. Since bodabodamen have regular access to cash, they have higher bargaining power for sex. Implications for HIV/AIDS prevention are discussed.

Breastfeeding has been associated with a doubling of the risk of HIV transmission. In developed countries, it is recommended that HIV-positive women do not breastfeed, but this is not a feasible option in most of Africa. It is therefore important to know the extent to which breastfeeding practices are amenable to change. To study this, we carried out 24 focus group discussions with 208 women attending maternity clinics in three rural sites in rural south-west Uganda. Breastfeeding starts from a few minutes to a few days after delivery; most women reported starting after 2 days. The main reason for delay is lack of milk or that the breasts are 'blocked'. Most women thought that this delay was good for the baby, or at least not harmful. Almost all women reported giving the child a soup made of boiled mushrooms before starting to breastfeed. Once they have started breastfeeding, various supplementary foods are gradually introduced at 4-6 months. Women thought that ideally breastfeeding should last for 2-3 years, but in practice most stopped after 18 months. The father and his female relatives generally decide when the child should be weaned. The women thought that commercial milk formula foods were good but could not use them because they are too expensive and anyway unavailable in rural areas. Most women were unaware that HIV could be passed to the child through breastfeeding. Various practices identified as potentially risky are common in this population. Artificial feeding is not a viable option in this area, and although women were prepared to make sacrifices to prevent vertical transmission of HIV, practices are deeply ingrained in traditional culture and will need to be addressed in future interventions. Male partners will also need to be involved.

This paper reports on a trial of vaginal products that were distributed and used by 131 women and 21 men in south west Uganda. It focuses specifically upon the issue of female control in heterosexual relationships and examines whether methods which are ostensibly under women's control, will in practice give women greater control of their sexual health. Participants were invited to select two from a range of vaginal products that included the female condom, contraceptive sponge, film, tablets, foam and gel, and use each for five weeks and their favourite product for a further three months. They were interviewed up to seven times over a five-month period. Although the women perceived that a major advantage of the products (with the exception of the female condom) was that they could be used secretly, less than 40% were using the products without their partner's knowledge after one week and this proportion declined over time with only 22% using the products secretly after ten weeks. In the main male partners were told as women felt it their duty to inform them. In general the women were very much more positive about the products than they were about the male condom, as were the men. A contributory factor to their popularity among women was the greater control they gave them. Even though, use of these products in practice often involved negotiation with male partners, the fact that use was contingent on women's action was empowering and increased somewhat their ability to control their sexual health.

The application of second-derivative UV-spectroscopy offers a highly sensitive and selective method for the determination of CS2 and COS, as acid hydrolysis products of dithiocarbamate und thiuram disulphide fungicides, using a methanolic amine absorption reagent (ethylenediamine, piperidine). With standard concentrations of 0.08-1.1 microgram CS2/ml and 0.3 to 2.0 micrograms COS/ml, respectively, calibration curves with good correlation coefficients (r > 0.999) were obtained. In comparison to the official method of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG method S15) the proposed alternative is at least 100 times more sensitive to CS2. Using the second derivative method it is possible not only to clearly differentiate between CS2 and COS but also to quantify both gases without resorting to tedious background corrections as compared to the direct photometric methods. Additionally, second derivative spectroscopy allows the direct determination of thiram in the concentration range 1-10 micrograms/ml after its extraction with chloroform. For example, thiram in water (10 micrograms/l) and in thiram/talc standards (10 mg/g) were determined with good precision (+/- 2.0%).

The acid hydrolysis products (CS2, COS, and H2S) of thiram (tetramethylthiram disulphide, TMTD) absorbed in a methanolic amine reagent (ethylenediamine, piperidine) were investigated by second derivative UV spectroscopy. When the hydrolysis temperatures are below the boiling point the formation of the side products COS and H2S at the expense of CS2 is unavoidable. Failure to carefully scrub the liberated gases with a lead acetate solution leads to the absorption of H2S also in the amine reagent and, like COS, causes an absorption at 230 nm that is erroneously attributed to COS. With the second-derivative technique it has been undoubtedly proved that, under the conditions of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft method S 15, thiram liberates CS2 and COS in a molar ratio of 1.92 to 0.06 (average of eight determinations) but not in a molar ratio of 1.5 to 0.5, as previously reported by some workers. Under these conditions it is impossible, contrary to earlier claims, to differentiate thiram from other dithiocarbamates based on the ratio of the hydrolysis products in residue analysis.