Forage yield of some grasses in monoculture and their mixtures with legumes under irrigation in central Sudan

    Mixed cropping system provides forage of higher yield than monoculture. This study was conducted during autumn, summer and winter seasons of 2014/15 and 2015/16 at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of monoculture of selected grasses and their mixtures with selected legumes on their fresh forage yield under irrigation in central Sudan. The experimental material consisted of three grasses, namely; Sudan grass (SG), maize (MZ) and Abu70 and three legumes, cowpea (CP), black-eyed bean (BB) and lablab bean (LB). Grasses were grown in pure stand or mixed with legumes in 1:1 and 2:1 ratios. The results showed that mixing significantly increased growth parameters during all seasons. The highest fresh forage yield of grasses was obtained by the mixture compared with monocultures. Land equivalent ratio exceeded 1.0 in all seasons which indicated clearly the advantage of mixtures over monocultures. Based on the results of this study, to obtain high forage yield of grasses, it was recommended to use seed combinations of 40 kg/ha MZ + 20 kg /ha LB, 40 kg /ha SG+ 20 kg /ha CP and 40 kg /ha SG + 20 kg /ha LB during autumn, summer and winter seasons, respectively.       يؤدي الخلط إلى زيادة في إنتاجية العلف. أجريت هذه الدراسة خلال صيف و خريف وشتاء 2014/15 و2015/16 بالمزرعة التجريبية، كلية العلوم الزراعية، جامعة الجزيرة، السودان. تهدف هذه الدراسة لتقييم أثر الخلط علي إنتاجية العلف لبعض الحشائش النجيلية ومخاليطها بالبقوليات تحت ظروف الري في أواسط السودان. تضمنت الدراسة ثلاثة محاصيل نجيلية هي حشيشة السودان وأبوسبعين والذرة الشامية وثلاثة محاصيل بقولية هي اللوبيا الحلو واللوبيا البيضاء واللوبيا العفن. زرعت المحاصيل النجيلية منفرده وفي مخاليط بنسبة  1:1و1:2 أظهرت نتائج التحليل أن كل من الإنتاج ومكوناته قد زادت زيادة معنوية كنتاج للخلط. تحققت الإنتاجية العالية للعلف الأخضر عند زراعة الاعلاف النجيلية في مخاليط مقارنة بزراعتها منفرده. قيم نسبة مكافئ الأرض فاقت الواحد الصحيح (1.0) خلال كافة المواسم مما يؤكد تفوق نظام الخلط علي زراعة المحصول نقيا. بناء علي نتائج هذه الدراسة ولتحقيق إنتاجية أعلاف نجيلية عالية نوصي بزراعتها في مخاليط بنسبة 40 كجم بذور/هكتار ذرة شامية + 20 كجم بذور/هكتار لوبيا عفن و 40 كجم بذور/هكتار حشيشة السودان + 20 كجم بذور/هكتار لوبيا حلو و 40 كجم بذور/هكتار حشيشة السودان + 20 كجم بذور/هكتار لوبيا عفن خلال مواسم الخريف والصيف والشتاء على التوالي.         &nbsp

Forage yield of some legumes in monoculture and mixtures under irrigation in central Sudan

    The study was conducted during summer, autumn and winter seasons of 2014/15 and 2015/16 at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan, to investigate the effect of mixing on forage yield of selected three legumes namely: cowpea (CP), black-eyed bean (BB) and lablab bean (LB) and their mixtures with three selected grasses, Sudan grass (SG), maize (MZ) and forage sorghum (Abu70). Legumes were grown in pure stand and mixed with grasses in 1:1 and 1:2 ratios. Treatment combinations were arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The results showed that mixing significantly increased plant fresh weight, LAI, and fresh forage yield during most seasons and decreased number of branches per plant during different seasons. Land equivalent ratio mostly was greater than one. Based on the results of this study to obtain high forage yield, it was recommended to use seed combinations of 30 kg seeds/ha LB + 30 kg seed/ha MZ during autumn and winter and 30 kg seeds/ha BB + 30 kg seed/ha SG during summer season.     نفذت هذه الدراسة خلال صيف، خريف وشتاء 2014/2015 و2015/2016 بالمزرعة التجريبية لكلية العلوم الزراعية، جامعة الجزيرة، السودان. تهدف هذه الدراسة لتقييم أثر الخلط علي إنتاجية المحاصيل البقولية المختارة وهي اللوبيا الحلو واللوبيا البيضاء واللوبيا العفن ومخاليطها مع المحاصيل النجيلية حشيشة السودان، أبوسبعين والذرة الشامية تحت ظروف الري في أواسط السودان. زرعت المحاصيل البقولية منفرده وفي مخاليط بنسبة 1 : 1 و 1 : 2. تم استخدام تصميم القطاعات العشوائية الكاملة بأربعة مكررات. الخلط أدى إلى زيادة معنوية لكل من  وزن النبات الرطب، دليل مساحة الأوراق وإنتاجية العلف الأخضر خلال معظم المواسم بينما أدى الخلط إلى نقصان عدد الأفرع في مختلف المواسم. كانت قيم نسبة مكافئ الأرض في أغلب المواسم  أعلى من الواحد الصحيح. بناءً على نتائج هذه الدراسة ولتحقيق إنتاجية أعلاف عالية نوصي بزراعة المحاصيل البقولية في مخاليط بنسبة خلط 30 كجم بذور/هكتار لوبيا عفن + 30 كجم بذور/هكتار ذرة شامية خلال فصلي الخريف والشتاء وبنسبة 30 كجم بذور/هكتار لوبيا حلو + 30 كجم بذور/هكتار حشيشة السودان خلال فصل الصيف.                         &nbsp

Pre- and in-hospital delays in the use of thrombolytic therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke in rural and urban Egypt

BackgroundReducing pre- and in-hospital delays plays an important role in increasing the rate of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. In Egypt, the IVT rate has increased steadily but is still far away from an ideal rate.AimThe study aimed to investigate the factors associated with pre- and in-hospital delays of IVT among patients with acute ischemic stroke coming from urban and rural communities.MethodsThis prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study was conducted from January 2018 to January 2019. Patients with acute ischemic stroke, who did not receive IVT, were included in the study. Patients were recruited from three large university stroke centers in Egypt, Assiut (south of Egypt), Tanta (north of Egypt), both serving urban and rural patients, and the University Hospital in Cairo (capital city), only serving an urban community. All participants underwent the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and full neurological assessment, urgent laboratory investigations, and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging to confirm the stroke diagnosis. The patients were subjected to a structured questionnaire that was designed to determine the parameters and time metrics for the pre- and in-hospital delays among patients from rural and urban regions.ResultsA total of 618 patients were included in the study, of which 364 patients (58.9%) lived in rural regions and 254 (41.1%) in urban regions. General demographic characteristics were similar between both groups. Approximately 73.3% of patients who arrived within the therapeutic time window were urban patients. The time from symptom onset till hospital arrival (onset to door time, ODT) was significantly longer among rural patients (738 ± 690 min) than urban patients (360 ± 342 min). Delayed onset to alarm time (OAT), initial misdiagnosis, and presentation to non-stroke-ready hospitals were the most common causes of pre-hospital delay and were significantly higher in rural patients. For patients arriving within the time window, the most common causes of in-hospital delays were prolonged laboratory investigations and imaging duration.ConclusionThe limited availability of stroke-ready hospitals in rural Egypt leads to delays in stroke management, with subsequent treatment inequality of rural patients with acute stroke

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021. Methods We estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined. Findings Globally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer. Interpretation As the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Higher Orders Instability of a Hollow Jet Endowed with Surface Tension

The higher orders instability of a gas cylinder ambient with an incompressible inviscid liquid endowed with surface tension is analyzed. The perturbation equations up to third order are derived and solved. The surface displacements, the velocity potentials and the dispersion relations are derived for each order of axisymmetric perturbation. It is found that, up to third order, a transition from instability to stability states occurs when the perturbed wavelength equals the circumference of the gas cylinder. The stability discussions for the present model have been done and for the nonhollow jet as well. The hollow jet instability is much larger than that of the nonhollow model. It is found that the maximum temporal amplification prevailing in the hollow jet is much higher than that of the full fluid jet. These results are consistent with some data of the experimental work of Kendall [9], in the first order perturbation

Establishing Organized Stroke Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: From Training of Non-specialist to Implementation

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) suffer from a higher stroke burden compared to high-income countries with higher mortality and disability due to stroke. However, the availability of resources, both infrastructural and personnel, is widely discrepant. The lack of specialist neurologists or stroke physicians in LMICs makes it imperative to rely on alternative models of stroke care. Task-sharing models such as the physician-led model or the non-specialist model have been evaluated previously with evidence for feasibility and cost-effectiveness. We propose to implement and assess the effectiveness of a non-specialist model of stroke care across 3 LMICs through a structured capacity building program, augmented by a tailored mobile application to guide the non-specialists in delivering optimal stroke care. This study will provide essential information on the effectiveness of a non-specialist driven delivery of stroke care on a larger scale across different regional contexts

Primary stroke prevention worldwide: translating evidence into action

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide and its burden is increasing rapidly in low-income and middle-income countries, many of which are unable to face the challenges it imposes. In this Health Policy paper on primary stroke prevention, we provide an overview of the current situation regarding primary prevention services, estimate the cost of stroke and stroke prevention, and identify deficiencies in existing guidelines and gaps in primary prevention. We also offer a set of pragmatic solutions for implementation of primary stroke prevention, with an emphasis on the role of governments and population-wide strategies, including task-shifting and sharing and health system re-engineering. Implementation of primary stroke prevention involves patients, health professionals, funders, policy makers, implementation partners, and the entire population along the life course