Introduction The prostate is the major accessory sex organ in males. It’s a major source of morbidity in males as the age gets over 40 years especially benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer which is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. In Uganda, Prostate cancer is the most common cancer of men and there has been a major increase in incidence. Serum PSA levels can be used to screen men at risk of prostate cancer. Prostate volume (PV) increases with age at different rates throughout a man’s lifetime, and in the course of different prostatic diseases. Therefore, knowledge of PV and serum PSA level is imperative for understanding the natural history of prostatic diseases, and as criteria for diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making. Thus this study was intended to demonstrate the relationship between prostate sonographic findings and serum PSA levels among asymptomatic Ugandan males attending Mulago Hospital. Objective To determine the relationship between prostate sonographic findings and PSA levels among asymptomatic adult males attending Mulago Hospital Methodology This was a descriptive cross sectional study among 277 adult males above 30 years without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) attending Mulago hospital. Blood samples for serum PSA were drawn and a transrectal ultrasound done to determine prostate volume, presence of prostate nodules and other prostate lesions. Data was entered in to the computer using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using GraphPad Prism for Mac. Results Overall, the median (range, 95% confidence interval of median) serum PSA level was 1 (0.1-16; 95% CI: 1-2) ng/ml. Two hundred and seventeen (78.3%) participants had serum PSA levels of 4ng/ml or less, 49 (17.8%) had levels between 4 and 10ng/ml and 11(3.9%) had levels above 10ng/ml. Overall, the median (range, 95% confidence interval of median) sonographic prostate volume was 26 (13-99; 95% CI: 26-29) mls. Both serum PSA levels and prostate volume progressively increased with age from 0.9ng/ml and 22mls in the 30-39 year age group to 7ng/ml and 38mls in the 60-69 year age group respectively. The correlation coefficient (spearman’s correlation coefficient, ρ) between participants’ serum PSA levels and prostate volumes was 0.27. One hundred and thirty (47%) participants had prostatic nodules. One hundred (77%) participants had features of benign nodules while 23% had suspicious nodules for prostate cancer. The median (range) PSA in participants with nodules was 2(0.1 - 16)ng/ml and for those without nodules was 1.1(0.1 - 8)ng/ml. The median (range) PSA density in participants with nodules was 0.07(0.0 - 1)ng/ml/ml and for those without nodules was 0.05(0.0 - 2)ng/ml/ml. Conclusion; Majority (78.3%) of the participants had serum PSA levels less than or equal to 4ng/ml however the highest PSA value was 16ng/ml. The median sonographic prostate volume was 26mls with 95% confidence interval of median of 26-29mls. There was a weak direct correlation between serum PSA levels and prostate volume (correlation coefficient of 0.27). One hundred thirty (47%) of the participants had prostatic nodules and of that, 23% had features of suspicious nodules for cancer of prostate. There was a great overlap in the serum PSA levels of those with nodules and those without. There was a great overlap in PSA densities of those with nodules and those without. Hence both serum PSA and PSA density cannot predict the presence or absence of prostatic nodules. Recommendation; Serum PSA levels should be interpreted together with age and prostate sonographic findings. The median PSA values and median prostate volumes calculated for asymptomatic men may serve as a baseline in future studies. A larger study is required to establish reference values for age specific serum PSA levels and prostate volumes in Uganda. Further research should be done to correlate prostatic nodules in asymptomatic males with histopathological findings.

Transactional sex (TS) is associated with risky sexual behaviors, unintended pregnancy, gender based violence and HIV infection. Proportionally in 2016, TS among young women not in union in Uganda was almost twice in rural areas (16.4%) compared to urban (8.9%) areas. Despite the negative consequences associated with transactional sex, no study in Sub-Saharan Africa Uganda inclusive has provided a detailed account of the contribution of the variations in characteristics and variations in effects of characteristics to the rural-urban gap in transactional sex among young women not in union. This study therefore provides a detailed account of the rural-urban gap in TS by variations in characteristics and variations in effects of characteristics of young women in Uganda. The study utilized data from UDHS 2016 comprising of 1,595 records of young women (15-24 years) not in union (not currently married or living with a man). Statistical analysis was done using a Non-linear Oaxaca’ Blinder Multivariate Decomposition of the logistic regression. In the results, the overall rural-urban gap in TS is significantly attributed to both variations in characteristics (30.7%) specifically total children ever born (-15.2%) and age at first sex (10.3%). TS was also attributed to variations in effects of characteristics (69.3%) of young women specifically variation in effect of highest education (-1,1014.1%) and HIV stigma (-84.3%) (p<0.05). In order to reduce transactional sex especially among young women in rural residence, government and other development partners need to strengthen comprehensive sex-education programs aimed at creating positive attitudes towards HIV, train young women on viable economic activities together with providing them with educational opportunities aimed at delaying sex.

Introduction: In low-income countries, caesarean sections are not always accessible even when they are clearly indicated. Caesarean Section (CS) is a major life saving surgical procedure and it is associated with decrease in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, however, these benefits are not realised with higher levels of CS birth. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for emergency CS among term mothers with two or more previous CS scars delivering in Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Methods: This was a case-control study. The cases were term mothers with two or more previous CS scars who were delivered by emergency CS whereas controls were term mothers delivered by elective CS. The cases and controls were recruited in a ratio of 1:1. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data on 256 respondents. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Univariable, bivariable and multivariable analysis were carried out. The study received approval from the School of Medicine Research and Ethics committee (SOMREC), Makerere University. Administrative approval was also obtained from Mulago National Referral Hospital administration and written signed informed consent forms from the study participants. Results: A descriptive analysis of 256 women shows that most women, 33.2% (85/256) were of age group 21-25 years. Most women: had attained primary level of education, 36.7% (94/256); were urban dwellers, 69.5% (178/256); and were married, 75.8% (194/256). Multivariable analysis showed that: women aged 31-35 years and had 2 or more previous CS had higher odds of delivery by emergency CS as compared to elective CS (AOR=5.17, CI: 1.32-9.20, p<0.05); women who had had four pregnancies were less likely to deliver by emergency CS as compared to elective CS (AOR=0.18, CI: 0.06-0.55, p<0.01); the women who were admitted in labour in the hospital had higher odds of delivery by emergency CS than elective CS, (AOR=5.87, CI: 2.23-9.09, p<0.001); and those from households of high socio-economic status were less likely to deliver by emergency CS as compared to those from households of low socio-economic status, (AOR=0.19, CI: 0.06-0.63, p<0.01). Conclusion: After final adjustment at multivariable analysis, the risk factors found to be significantly associated with emergency CS among mothers with two or more previous scars were; older age, having five pregnancies, admission in labour, and low socio-economic status.

Uganda’s construction sector is mainly traditional and not modern in a way that most of the projects done are labour based; this labour is mainly uneducated and semi-skilled and highly unproductive. Labour unproductivity is a crucial factor in determining the success of any project being run in Uganda. This is attributed to the fact that many of the construction firms hire semi-skilled labour that is majorly not educated or provided with the right set of skills to do the job since they focus on cheap labour have put a strong pressure on construction entities to continually improve their productivity and performance, consequently the objective of this research is to investigate how to improve the on-site productivity of labour in Uganda, a case study of Kampala. Productivity investigation, assessment, analysis and subsequent measurement criteria varies from project to project, despite much work on the subject, there is no commonly agreed framework of productivity measurement and improvement for on-site labour. The study explored the significance of key contributing factors in perspective of various construction stakeholders (Consulting Engineers, Project Managers, Site Engineers, Foremen and Clerk of Works) and to elicit perceptions of their relative importance. The literature review embarked on was thoroughly invested into to develop and come up with different factors believed to affect onsite labour productivity. The questionnaire survey developed had 40 factors which were identified and categorized into 5 groups for efficiency. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed to four (4) key groups of project participants; namely Site Engineers, Clerk of Works, Consulting Engineer (Project Manager) and Foremen. 25 data collection sheet were used by the researchers to obtain MPDM data to obtain more information. 65 questionnaires were returned showing a 65% response rate, among these 17 Site Engineers (26.2%), 11 Clerk of Works (16.9%), 25 Foremen (38.5) and 12 Project Mangers (28.5%) gave feedback. The data from these returned questions was analyzed by The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) to obtain the key factors affecting onsite labour productivity. The researchers also used the Method Productivity Delay Model data collection sheets to collect information from the 25 sites and they considered casting of columns and laying of bricks along courses as the parameters of study. The method resulted into key factors being identified as was done with SPSS. The Spearman’s Rank Correlation method was used to rank the key factors affecting onsite labour productivity between the two approaches. Findings from the analysis revealed that the key factors affecting the productivity of onsite labour in Uganda with emphasis in Kampala in order of their relative importance as perceived by the stake holders are: labour, environment, equipment, materials and management factors. KEYWORDS: Productivity, Method Productivity Delay Method, On-site Labour, Owners, Consultants, Contractors, Construction Projects, Foremen

The study was about the analysis of the determinants of Tax Revenue in Uganda. Emphasis was put on how Trade ratio of GDP, Annual Inflation rate, Share of agriculture to GDP, Per Capita Income and Foreign Direct Investment determine the tax revenue in Uganda from period (1998-2018).The main objective of the study was to identify the determinants of Tax Revenue in Uganda. Data analysis method employed E-Views statistical package, where descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, tests for stationarity and various diagnostic tests were done to explain the relationships between Openness to trade ratio to GDP, Annual Inflation rate, Share of agriculture to GDP, GDP Per capita income and Foreign Direct Investment have on Tax revenue in Uganda. The findings indicated that agriculture and per capita income had significant influences on tax revenue both in long and short run period, FDI and trade had statistically significant effects on tax revenue in the long run while inflation had a statistically significant effect on tax revenue in the short run. The study recommends the following policies; formalize the agricultural sector through strengthening farmers’ access to formal credit, reduce tax holidays by applying tax rates to the incoming investors in Uganda, reduce exemptions to foreign firms by giving them equal opportunities to operate in Uganda like any other indigenous firm where no special exemptions are applied, like free land for operations and exemptions from tax rates, avail opportunities to people to earn in order to pay taxes this can be done by increasing the government expenditure on public works which will bring about an increase in employment opportunities and also improve the business environment to enable firms make more sales and pay more taxes through strengthening institutional environment, ICT infrastructure and improving on better working conditions for firms.

Introduction: Use of herbal medicine by pregnant women is reported globally. There is limited data on reasons for use and safety of herbal medicines used during pregnancy. This study aimed at finding the prevalence, factors associated with, and reasons for use of herbal medicine by pregnant women in an urban tertiary hospital in Uganda, Mulago Hospital Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 520 postpartum women participated. Data on demographic characteristics, self-reported use/non-use of herbal medicine in the just ended pregnancy, and reasons for the use of herbal medicine were collected in an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Using modified Poisson regression model, factors associated with use of herbal medicine in pregnancy were determined Results: Prevalence of herbal medicine use in pregnancy was 69.8 %( 363/520). Herbal medicine was used for reasons like gaining energy, widening the pelvis to prevent caesarean section, and easing delivery. Women who strongly agreed that herbal medicine is safe in pregnancy (PR=1.1 95%CI=1.01.00-1.21); women of low parity (PR=1.22, 95%CI=1.08-1.39); women advised by family members (PR=1.64, 95%CI=1.04-2.59); and those who used herbal medicine in past pregnancies (PR=3.23, 95%CI=2.23-4.67) were more likely to use herbal medicine in pregnancy Conclusions: This study indicates that herbal medicine is widely used during pregnancy by pregnant women at Mulago National Referral Hospital. The medicine is used mainly to gain energy, ease delivery, and prevent caesarean sections. Further research is to understand women’s perception of the delivery modes offered at Mulago hospital is recommended

The objective of the study was to establish the factors that are associated with completion of recommended Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) regimen in Uganda in the districts neighbouring Queen Elizabeth National Park. The assessment was made by socio- demographic and economic factors, dog bites and PEP vaccination and rabies vaccination strategies used to reduce rabies after animal bites. Primary data was compiled from a sample of 130 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The analysis was done using frequency distribution, Chi-square statistics and binary logistic regression. The results showed that 91.5% of the victims had completed rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis. In particular, completion of recommended Post-Exposure Prophylaxis regimen was more likely among households that were far away from the national park (OR=6.88; p-value=0.018), members that were bitten in the rainy season (OR=5.59; p-value=0.034) and those who sought treatment from the hospital (OR=2.24; p-value=0.029). On the contrary, completion of recommended Post-Exposure Prophylaxis regimen was less likely among households whose heads were in the age group of 51 to 60 years (OR=0.019; p-value=0.017). The factors associated with completion of recommended PEP regimen in the districts neighbouring Queen Elizabeth National Park are proximity to the national park, age of the household head, season of the dog bite and category of the health centre. Thus, bitten victims should receive counselling with documented medical providers’ recommendations and should be closely followed to ensure the compliance of PEP, by using either follow-up calls or short message service text messages.

The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera seeds against selected microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis) that were isolated from water obtained from well-water sources within Makindye division of Uganda. Agar well diffusion technique was used to assess the antibacterial effect of the extract on E. coli and E. faecalis and Ciprofloxacin was used as a positive control. Two-fold serial broth dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibition concentration of the extract against the selected microorganisms. The study revealed that the ethanolic extract of M. oleifera seeds had a degree of antibacterial activity against the selected test microorganisms (E. coli and E. faecalis) that were isolated from the well-water samples. The ethanolic extract inhibited growth of E. coli at an MIC of 0.25 g/ml with a mean inhibition zone of 10.75 mm while E. faecalis growth was inhibited at an MIC of 0.125 g/ml with a mean inhibition zone of 21.50 mm. The results of this study revealed that M. oleifera seed extract could be used to considerably reduce the quantity of microorganisms in raw water and thus be used to develop new cheaper water treatment alternatives to avail safer water for human consumption from the well-water sources in the rural communities of Makindye division in Uganda.

The study was to analyse the effect of automation of bank services on the volume of over the counter transactions the period 2009 to 2018. The study employed the graphical approach (scatter plots and line graphs), correlation analysis and simple linear regression models. The line graphs showed increasing trends of all the E-banking channels transaction rates (online transaction rate, mobile banking and ATM service transaction rate). Mobile banking and use of automated teller machines was established to be the widely used computerized channels. Mobile banking that was introduced to the banking environment of Centenary Bank in 2013 also exhibited increasing usage from 13.7% of the all transactions in 2013 to 24%. ATM service increased to 34% in 2018 from 19.7% in 2009 and also Online banking increased to 4% in 2018 from 0.9% in 2009. However, the line graph showed decreasing trends of over the counter transaction rate from 79.4% in 2009 to 30% in 2018. The correlation analysis proved a negative association (-0.9918) between the total amount of transactions made via the automated channels and the volume of over the counter transactions. All the scatter plots established a significant linear negative effect between over the counter transactions rate and the automated banking channels (online banking transaction rate, mobile banking transaction rate, ATM service transaction service rate) i.e. as automated/E-banking transactions increases, over the counter reduces. Mobile banking, ATM service and Online banking were significant predictors (P<0.05) of over the counter transaction rate. Mobile banking, ATM service and Online banking had a significant linear negative effect on over the counter transactions with negative slopes of -2.0365, -3.9896 and -17.5447 respectively.

A distribution power utility company is mandated to supply electrical energy to the nal con- sumer which includes both industrial demand and domestic demand. There has been a steady increase in industrial parks which are being set up in various places for instance Namanve indus- trial park, Mbale industrial park, Jinja industrial park among others. These industries being set up lead to increased strain on the already existing power infrastructure which constraints lead to unprecedent challenges on the distribution network for instance the jinja industrial park demand is about 40 MVA. Industrial load demand has seen a steady growth in the eastern region around the areas of Jinja Industrial, Iganga, Mayuge and Njeru. The resulting implication of this has been congestion on the distribution system assets, thus leading to overload capacity on the grid assets. In May 2019, President Museveni commissioned the construction of the Meghi Magan Patel (MMP) industrial park in Buikwe district about 12km from the Njeru substation. The current loading prole of MMP stands at 20 MVA, but is expected to rise to about 58 MVA on completion and establishment of all the industries in the industrial park. With this, the total load demand has increased to about 90 MVA for the entire area. Therefore because of such a huge load demand, there's a need to investigate the eect of such a demand on the existing infrastructure. This is necessary to ensure that for future industrial parks, the distribution utility can plan accordingly to ensure a continous power supply to the industrial loads thus reduce downtime suered by the industries due to cases of loadshedding. In this project work, we took on the task of investigating the eect of this industrial park on the existing infrastructure through data collection and using simulations i.e transient stability analyis and contingency analysis using digsilent powerfactory software. It was found that for a three-phase fault on line from the Owen falls station to Njeru, there would be a total blackout due to lack of alternative path to evacuate power with MMP connected. This would imply halting of operation of industries which would lead to massive losses. It was also observed that there was loss of synchronism at Kakira co-generation, and this would a loss of a key reactive power supply to the industries in the Jinja Industrial park.