Effect of vernalization period and bulb size on bolting of onion cultivar “Texas Early Grano” grown under Gezira conditions, Sudan

     Texas Early Grano onion cultivar is very popular in Sudan and is used mainly as a salad vegetable. Unfortunately, this cultivar does not flower and produce seeds under Sudan conditions and seeds should be imported from abroad. Attempts to produce seeds of this cultivar under Gezira conditions have failed. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the effects of bulb size and vernalization on the induction of flowering of Texas Early Grano onion cultivar. Experiments were conducted at the research farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan, during the  winter seasons of 2008/09 and 2009/10.   Treatments consisted of vernalization periods ranging from 45 to 180 days, storage temperatures of 4 to 50C, and bulb size which was small and medium. Treatments were arranged in a  randomized complete block design with three replicates. Results indicated that vernalization duration significantly affected emergence percentage. As vernalization duration increased, emergence percentage increased in both seasons. Bulb size had no significant effects on emergence percentage. Vernalization temperatures of 4 to 50C for 90 days or more was the key factor for the induction of bolting of Texas Early Grano cultivar. To obtain the highest bolting percentage and seed yield, a combination of venrnalization at 4 to 50C for 180 days and medium-sized bulbs should be recommended.       يعتبر صنف البصل "تكساس إيرلى جرانو" من الأصناف المعروفة في السودان التي تستخدم كأحد الخضر الرئيسية في طبق السلطة. محاولة إنتاج بذور هذا الصنف محلياً لم تعط نتائج إيجابية نسبة لعدم توفر درجات الحرارة المنخفضة اللازمة لتحفيز الإزهار تحت ظروف ولاية الجزيرة. لذا هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تحفيز الإزهار لإنتاج البذور من هذا الصنف باستخدام ظاهرة الإرتباع (التخزين المبرد) لأحجام مختلفة من الأبصال. أجريت هذه الدراسة بمزرعة كلية العلوم الزراعية، جامعة الجزيرة، واد مدني، السودان خلال موسمي 2008/09 و 2009/10م. شملت التجارب فترات تخزين مبرد تراوحت ما بين 45- 180 يوما في درجات حرارة تراوحت ما بين 4 إلي 50 م ونوعين من حجم الأبصال (صغير ومتوسط).  استخدم تصميم القطاعات العشوائية الكاملة بثلاث مكررات. أشارت النتائج إلى أن التخزين المبرد في درجات الحرارة 4 - 5°م هو العامل الرئيسي المحفز للإزهار في صنف البصل "تكساس إيرلي جرانو". التخزين المبرد أظهر تاثيراً معنوياً في نسبة الانبات، فكلما زادت فترة التخزين المبرد زادت نسبة الانبات في كلا الموسمين، بينما لم يؤثر حجم الأبصال في نسبة الانبات. تم الحصول على أعلى نسبة للإزهار وإنتاجية البذور بزراعة الأبصال متوسطة الحجم والمخزنة في درجة حرارة 4 - 5°م لفترة 180 يوما. لذلك يوصى بتخزين الأبصال متوسطة الحجم في درجات حرارة تتراوح بين 4 - 5°م لفترة 180 يوما أو اكثر للحصول على بذور صنف البصل "تكساس إيرلي جرانو" تحت ظروف ولاية الجزيرة

Management of Helicobacter pylori among medical doctors working in Khartoum, Sudan 2019: a cross-sectional study

Background: Various international guidelines have been developed regarding Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) management, as it is infecting more than half of the world's population. Sudan's health system lacks guidelines regarding H. pylori management, leading to a discrepancy in practice. Investigating the current approach could be a step forward in the formulation of a national consensus in the management of H. pylori. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical doctors currently working in Khartoum, Sudan. Participants were enrolled from platforms of medical associations through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was scored out of 25 points, and scoring 13 or above considered a good approach. Data analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: A total of 358 medical doctors participated in the study. The mean (±SD) score was 12.9(±4.5). Those who were using textbooks, campaigns, symposiums or general medical information to their primary Source of knowledge significantly scored higher. The most selected indication for both diagnosis (76.8%) and treatment (67.6%) was an active peptic ulcer. Stool antigen test (SAT) was the most preferred test (70.7%). The majority of respondents selected triple therapy (82.1%) as a first-line regimen. Only 37.7% confirmed the eradication after four weeks of stopping the treatment. They ensure eradication mainly through SAT (29%). Conclusion: A suboptimal approach was noted among medical doctors of Khartoum, Sudan, regarding H. pylori management. Efforts should be invested in forming national guidelines and the implementation of continuous medical education programs. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Medical doctor, Sudan

Testing the spectral resolutions of the new multispectral sensors for detecting Phaeosphaeria leaf spot (PLS) infestations in maize crop

Maize is one of the most important subsistence and commercial crops in the world. In Africa, it is regarded as one of the most popular food crops. Recently however, significant losses due to Phaeosphaeria leaf spot (PLS) infestation have been reported. Therefore, techniques for early detection of PLS infestation are valuable for mitigating maize yield losses. Recently, remotely sensed datasets have become valuable in crop assessment. In this study, we sought to detect early PLS infestation by comparing the performance of commonly used higher spatial resolution sensors (WorldView, Quickbird, Sentinel series 2, RapidEye and SPOT 6) based on their spectrally resampled field spectra. Canopy training spectra were collected on leaves with signs of early infestation and healthy leaves spectral characteristics used for comparison. Training data was collected in 2013 growing season while test data was collected under similar conditions in 2014. The Random Forest algorithm was used to establish the Kappa and overall, user and producer's accuracies. Results showed that the RapidEye sensor with an overall classification accuracy of 86.96% and Kappa value of 0.76 performed better than the rest of the sensors while the Red, Yellow and Red-Edge bands were most useful for detecting early PLS infestation. The value of the RapidEye sensor in detecting early PLS infestation can be attributed to the optimally centred Red Red-Edge bands sensitive to changes in chlorophyll content, a consequent of PLS infestation on maize leaves. The study provides valuable insight on the value of existing sensors, based on their sensor characteristics in detecting early PLS infestation.Keywords:  Phaeosphaeria leaf spot, Remote Sensing, sensors Random Forest, Variable importanc

Impact on core values of family medicine from a 2-year Master's programme in Gezira, Sudan: observational study

Background: Training of family physicians should include not only clinical and procedural skills, but also core values as comprehensive care, continuity of care, leadership and patient-centeredness. The Gezira Family Medicine Project (GFMP) is a 2 years Master’s programme in family medicine in Sudan. We assessed the impact of GFMP on the candidates’ adherence to some core values of family medicine. Methods: This is a prospective study with before-after design based on repeated surveys. We used Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) to assess physicians’ attitude towards patient-centeredness. Practice based data from individual patients’ consultations and self-assessment methods were used to assess physicians’ adherence to core values. Results: At the end of the programme the candidates (N = 110) were significantly more active in community health promotion (p <  0.001), more confident as a team leader (p = 0.008), and showed increased adherence to national guidelines for managing diabetes (p = 0.017) and hypertension (p = 0.003). The responding candidates had more knowledge about patients’ medical history (p <  0.001), family history (p < 0.001) and family situation (p < 0.001). There were more planned follow up consultations (p < 0.001) and more referrals (p = 0.040). In contrast, results from PPOS showed slightly less orientation towards patient-centeredness (p = 0.007). Conclusions: The GFMP Master’s programme induced a positive change in adherence to several core values of family medicine. The candidates became less patient-centered.publishedVersio

Exploring the utility of the additional WorldView-2 bands and support vector machines in mapping land use/land cover in a fragmented ecosystem, South Africa

Land use/land cover (LULC) classification is a key research field in environmental applications of remote  sensing on the earthfs surface. The advent of new high resolution multispectral sensors with unique bands has  provided an opportunity to map the spatial distribution of detailed LULC classes over a large fragmented area. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to map LULC classes using multispectral WorldView-2 (WV-2) data and SVM in a fragmented ecosystem; and (2) to compare the accuracy of three WV-2 spectral data sets in distinguishing amongst various LULC classes in a fragmented ecosystem. WV-2 image was spectrally  resized to its four standard bands (SB: blue, green, red and near infrared-1) and four strategically located  bands (AB: coastal blue, yellow, red edge and near infrared-2). WV-2 image (8bands: 8B) together with SB and AB subsets were used to classify LULC using support vector machines. Overall classification accuracies of 78.0% (total disagreement = 22.0%) for 8B, 51.0% (total disagreement = 49.0%) for SB, and 64.0% (total disagreement = 36.0%) for AB were achieved. There were significant differences between the performance of all WV-2 subset pair comparisons (8B versus SB, 8B versus AB and SB versus AB) as demonstrated by the results of McNemarfs test (Z score .1.96). This study concludes that WV-2 multispectral data and the SVM classifier have the potential to map LULC classes in a fragmented ecosystem. The study also offers relatively accurate information that is important for the indigenous forest managers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa for making informed decisions regarding conservation and management of LULC patterns.Keywords: land use/cover classification, fragmented ecosystem, WorldView-2, support vector  machines

Statistical modeling of the effect of rainfall flushing on dengue transmission in Singapore

Background: Rainfall patterns are one of the main drivers of dengue transmission as mosquitoes require standing water to reproduce. However, excess rainfall can be disruptive to the Aedes reproductive cycle by “flushing out” aquatic stages from breeding sites. We developed models to predict the occurrence of such “flushing” events from rainfall data and to evaluate the effect of flushing on dengue outbreak risk in Singapore between 2000 and 2016. Methods: We used machine learning and regression models to predict days with “flushing” in the dataset based on entomological and corresponding rainfall observations collected in Singapore. We used a distributed lag nonlinear logistic regression model to estimate the association between the number of flushing events per week and the risk of a dengue outbreak. Results: Days with flushing were identified through the developed logistic regression model based on entomological data (test set accuracy = 92%). Predictions were based upon the aggregate number of thresholds indicating unusually rainy conditions over multiple weeks. We observed a statistically significant reduction in dengue outbreak risk one to six weeks after flushing events occurred. For weeks with five or more flushing events, compared with weeks with no flushing events, the risk of a dengue outbreak in the subsequent weeks was reduced by 16% to 70%. Conclusions: We have developed a high accuracy predictive model associating temporal rainfall patterns with flushing conditions. Using predicted flushing events, we have demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in dengue outbreak risk following flushing, with the time lag well aligned with time of mosquito development from larvae and infection transmission. Vector control programs should consider the effects of hydrological conditions in endemic areas on dengue transmission.Charles Stark Draper Laborator

Strategic analysis of the obstetric and gynaecological internship in Sudan

Background: The high expectations of the increasingly questioning society lays a great burden on the first line treating doctors in Sudan. This is particularly true in the obstetrics and gynaecology departments. The impact of training of the house-officer in surgical departments was not studied before in Sudan.The aim: To evaluate the gains in knowledge and skills of house-officers in the obstetrics and gynaecology departments as reflected by their activities and their opinions.Methodology: A prospective cohort carried in the period from May 2011 through June 2011. The data was collected from 200 house-officers. Their activities and duties as formulated by their seniors and supervisors and gains in knowledge and skills were noted.Results: All house-officers participated actively in the clinical diagnosis (history, physical examination and relevant investigations) and management of cases of antepartum and postpartum haemorrhages. Of them 186(93%) had duties not more than twice a week. However, 121(60.5%) shared training opportunities in units having seven or less peers. Also, 109(54.5%) had regular seminars and tutorials. In practice, 165(82.5%) performed evacuations, 158(79%) participated in normal deliveries, and 110(55%) were assisted in performing caesarean sections.Conclusion: The overall performance of house-officers in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in Sudan is good. However, standards of training need to revisited to fill gabs in training if these young doctors are to be dispatched to rural hospital immediately after the internshipperiod.Key words: Internship, preregistration medical graduates duties, house-officers, obstetrics and gynaecology, medical education, and medical responsibility

Simulating the connections of ENSO and the rainfall regime of East Africa and the upper Blue Nile region using a climate model of the Tropics

We simulate the observed statistical relationship between ENSO and the rainfall regime of the upper Blue Nile using the tropical-band version of the regional climate model RegCM4 (or Reg-TB). An ensemble of nine simulations for the 28-year period 1982–2009 is completed to investigate the role of ENSO in modulating rainfall over the upper Blue Nile catchment. Reg-TB shows a good skill in simulating the climatology of temperature, outgoing long-wave radiation patterns as well as related atmospheric circulation features during the summer season (i.e. the rainy season over the Blue Nile catchment). The model also succeeds in reproducing the observed negative correlation between Pacific SST and rainfall anomalies over the Blue Nile catchment, and in particular the association of droughts over the Blue Nile with El Niño events that start in April–June. We thus propose that observations and model forecasts of Pacific SST during this season could be used in seasonal forecasting of summer rainfall over the upper Blue Nile region.Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Earth System PhysicsAbdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Sandwich Training Educational ProgrammeEuropean Union (DEWFORA Project

Self-reported fever, treatment actions and malaria infection prevalence in the northern states of Sudan

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of fevers and their management in areas of low malaria transmission in Africa is not well understood. The characteristics of fever, its treatment and association with infection prevalence from a national household sample survey in the northern states of Sudan, an area that represents historically low parasite prevalence, are examined in this study. METHODS: In October-November 2009, a cluster sample cross-sectional household malaria indicator survey was undertaken in the 15 northern states of the Sudan. Data on household assets and individual level information on age, sex, whether the individual had a fever in the last 14 days and on the day of survey, actions taken to treat the fever including diagnostic services and drugs used and their sources were collected. Consenting household members were asked to provide a finger-prick blood sample and examined for malaria parasitaemia using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT). All proportions and odds ratios were weighted and adjusted for clustering. RESULTS: Of 26,471 respondents 19% (n = 5,299) reported a history of fever within the last two weeks prior to the survey and 8% had fever on the day of the survey. Only 39% (n = 2,035) of individuals with fever in last two weeks took any action, of which 43% (n = 875) were treated with anti-malarials. About 44% (n = 382) of malaria treatments were done using the nationally recommended first-line therapy artesunate+sulphadoxine-pryrimethamine (AS+SP) and 13% (n = 122) with non-recommended chloroquine or SP. Importantly 33.9% (n = 296) of all malaria treatments included artemether monotherapy, which is internationally banned for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. About 53% of fevers had some form of parasitological diagnosis before treatment. On the day of survey, 21,988 individuals provided a finger-prick blood sample and only 1.8% were found positive for Plasmodium falciparum. Infection prevalence was higher among individuals who had fever in the last two weeks (OR = 3.4; 95%CI = 2.6 - 4.4, p < 0.001) or reported fever on the day of survey (OR = 6.2; 95%CI = 4.4 - 8.7, p < 0.001) compared to those without a history of fever. CONCLUSION: Across the northern states of the Sudan, the period prevalence of fever is low. The proportion of fevers that are likely to be malaria is very low. Consequently, parasitological diagnosis of all fevers before treatment is an appropriate strategy for malaria case-management. Improved regulation and supervision of health workers is required to increase the use of diagnostics and remove the practice of prescribing artemisinin monotherapy

Coupling of a regional atmospheric model (RegCM3) and a regional oceanic model (FVCOM) over the maritime continent

Climatological high resolution coupled climate model simulations for the maritime continent have been carried out using the regional climate model (RegCM) version 3 and the finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) specifically designed to resolve regions characterized by complex geometry and bathymetry. The RegCM3 boundary forcing is provided by the EMCWF-ERA40 re-analysis. FVCOM is embedded in the Global MITgcm which provides boundary forcing. The domain of the coupled regional model covers the entire South China Sea with its through-flow, the entire Indonesian archipelago with the Indonesian through-flow (ITF) and includes a large region in the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans. The coupled model is able to provide stable and realistic climatological simulations for a specific decade of atmospheric–oceanic variables without flux correction. The major focus of this work is on oceanic properties. First, the coupled simulation is assessed against ocean-only simulations carried out under two different sets of air–sea heat fluxes. The first set, provided by the MITgcm, is proved to be grossly deficient as the heat fluxes are evaluated by a two-dimensional, zonally averaged atmosphere and the simulated SST have anomalous cold biases. Hence the MITgcm fluxes are discarded. The second set, the NCEP re-analysis heat fluxes, produces a climatological evolution of the SST with an average cold bias of ~−0.8 °C. The coupling eliminates the cold bias and the coupled SST evolution is in excellent agreement with the analogous evolution in the SODA re-analysis data. The detailed comparison of oceanic circulation properties with the International Nusantara Stratification and Transport observations shows that the coupled simulation produces the best estimate of the total ITF transport through the Makassar strait while the transports of three ocean-only simulations are all underestimated. The annual cycle of the transport is also very well reproduced. The coupling also considerably improves the vertical thermal structure of the Makassar cross section in the upper layer affected by the heat fluxes. On the other hand, the coupling is relatively ineffective in improving the precipitation fields even though the coupled simulation captures reasonably well the precipitation annual cycle at three land stations in different latitudes.Singapore. National Research Foundation (Center for Environmental Sensing and Monitoring (CENSAM))Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) programNational Natural Science Foundation (China) (NSFC, No. 41106003