Role of the Sudanese higher education institutions in the peace building process

Sudan experienced a long standing armed conflict in the south between the rebels and the central government. This 22 years old armed conflict resulted in mass displacement of people of southern Sudan to the north making Sudan to have the largest numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) mounting to 4 million and half a million refugees in the neighbouring countries. Signing of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) on January 9/2005 brought the conflict to an end. However, there is a long way to go to resolve all problems which created the conflict. CPA is a major challenge to the civil society especially institutions of higher education in both south and northern Sudan for peace building and democratic transformation. Self determination referendum of the southern people which will take place at the end of the interim period in 2011 is both an opportunity and challenge to our country. Another armed conflict suddenly erupted in Darfur region in 2003. This time all the leaders of the conflict are newer graduates of the Sudanese higher education system. The leaders of the recent conflict unlike the southern one are young, inexperienced, and fierce. A peace agreement has been forced in by the international community in Abuja in July 2005 called Darfur peace agreement (DPA). This peace agreement has recognized the need for affirmative action to upgrade the communities in Darfur with fair share in political and economic revenues. However, only one faction of the rebels signed and a large number of the fighting groups did not sign and continued hostilities. Another round of negotiations is underway but those negotiators of the rebels do not follow any reasoning during process, on the contrary stick onto very controversial points. Another peace agreement has been signed between the government and rebels of Eastern Sudan in May 2006. The peace agreement of eastern Sudan focused onto solving political, social, cultural and economic divide between the different regions of the Sudan. The latter two agreements recognize the unity and sovereignty of the country and have no mention for self determination or referendum.Peer Reviewe

Prevalence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) CareStart qualitative rapid diagnostic test performance, and genetic variants in two malaria-endemic areas in Sudan

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) is the most common enzymopathy globally, and deficient individuals may experience severe hemolysis following treatment with 8-aminoquinolines. With increasing evidence of Plasmodium vivax infections throughout sub-Saharan Africa, there is a pressing need for population-level data at on the prevalence of G6PDd. Such evidence-based data will guide the expansion of primaquine and potentially tafenoquine for radical cure of P. vivax infections. This study aimed to quantify G6PDd prevalence in two geographically distinct areas in Sudan, and evaluating the performance of a qualitative CareStart rapid diagnostic test as a point-of-care test. Blood samples were analyzed from 491 unrelated healthy persons in two malaria-endemic sites in eastern and central Sudan. A pre-structured questionnaire was used which included demographic data, risk factors and treatment history. G6PD levels were measured using spectrophotometry (SPINREACT) and first-generation qualitative CareStart rapid tests. G6PD variants (202 G\u3eA; 376 A\u3eG) were determined by PCR/RFLP, with a subset confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The prevalence of G6PDd by spectrophotometry was 5.5% (27/491; at 30% of adjusted male median, AMM); 27.3% (134/491; at 70% of AMM); and 13.1% (64/490) by qualitative CareStart rapid diagnostic test. The first-generation CareStart rapid diagnostic test had an overall sensitivity of 81.5% (95%CI: 61.9 to 93.7) and negative predictive value of 98.8% (97.3 to 99.6). All persons genotyped across both study sites were wild type for the G6PD G202 variant. For G6PD A376G all participants in New Halfa had wild type AA (100%), while in Khartoum the AA polymorphism was found in 90.7%; AG in 2.5%; and GG in 6.8%. Phenotypic G6PD B was detected in 100% of tested participants in New Halfa while in Khartoum, the phenotypes observed were B (96.2%), A (2.8%), and AB (1%). The African A- phenotype was not detected in this study population. Overall, G6PDd prevalence in Sudan is low-to-moderate but highly heterogeneous. Point-of-care testing with the qualitative CareStart rapid diagnostic test demonstrated moderate performance with moderate sensitivity and specificity but high negative predicative value. The two sites harbored primarily the African B phenotype. A country-wide survey is recommended to understand GP6PD deficiencies more comprehensively in Sudan

Effect of mutation and vaccination on spread, severity, and mortality of COVID-19 disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had different waves within the same country. The spread rate and severity showed different properties within the COVID-19 different waves. The present work aims to compare the spread and the severity of the different waves using the available data of confirmed COVID-19 cases and death cases. Real-data sets collected from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science were used to perform a comparative study between COVID-19 different waves in 12 countries with the highest total performed tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 detection in the world (Italy, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Spain, India, USA, UAE, Poland, Colombia, Turkey, and Switzerland). The total number of confirmed cases and death cases in different waves of COVID-19 were compared to that of the previous one for equivalent periods. The total number of death cases in each wave was presented as a percentage of the total number of confirmed cases for the same periods. In all the selected 12 countries, Wave 2 had a much higher number of confirmed cases than that in Wave 1. However, the death cases increase was not comparable with that of the confirmed cases to the extent that some countries had lower death cases than in Wave 1, UAE, and Spain. The death cases as a percentage of the total number of confirmed cases in Wave 1 were much higher than that in Wave 2. Some countries have had Waves 3 and 4. Waves 3 and 4 have had lower confirmed cases than Wave 2, however, the death cases were variable in different countries. The death cases in Waves 3 and 4 were similar to or higher than Wave 2 in most countries. Wave 2 of COVID-19 had a much higher spread rate but much lower severity resulting in a lower death rate in Wave 2 compared with that of the first wave. Waves 3 and 4 have had lower confirmed cases than Wave 2; that could be due to the presence of appropriate treatment and vaccination. However, that was not reflected in the death cases, which were similar to or higher than Wave 2 in most countries. Further studies are needed to explain these findings

Adverse pregnancy outcomes in sickle cell trait: a prospective cohort study evaluating clinical and haematological parameters in postpartum mothers and newborns

Background: Sickle cell trait (SCT) is a congenital condition caused by the inheritance of a single allele of the abnormal haemoglobin beta gene, HbS. Carriers of SCT are generally asymptomatic, and they do not manifest the clinical and haematological abnormalities of sickle cell anaemia (SCA). However, there is evidence that they display some symptoms in stressful situations. Pregnancy is a stressful physiological event, and it is not clear if SCT adversely affects pregnancy outcomes, particularly in those from developing countries where people regularly suffer from nutritional insufficiency. Objective: This study aims to investigate pregnancy outcomes in Sudanese women with SCT. Subjects and methods: Pregnant women with (HbAS, n=34) and without (HbAA, n=60) SCT were recruited during their first trimester at El Obeid Hospital, Kordofan, Western Sudan. Following appropriate ethical approval and informed consent from the participants, detailed anthropometric, clinical, haematological, obstetric, and birth outcome data were registered. In addition, blood samples were collected at enrolment and at delivery. Results: At enrolment in the first trimester, the SCT group did not manifest SCA symptoms, and there was no difference in the haematological parameters between the SCT and control groups. However, at delivery, the women with SCT, compared with the control group, had lower levels of hemoglobin (Hb, p=0.000), packed cell volume (PCV, p=0.000), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH, p=0.002) and neutrophil counts (p=0.045) and higher mean corpuscular volume (MCV, p=0.000) and platelet counts (p=0.000). Similarly, at delivery, the babies of SCT women had lower birth weight (p=0.000), lower Hb (p=0.045), PCV (p=0.000), MCH (p=0.000), and higher neutrophil (p=0.004) and platelet counts (p=0.000) than the babies of the healthy control group. Additionally, there were more miscarriages, stillbirths, and admissions to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in the SCT group. Conclusions: The study revealed that SCT is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal and neonatal anaemia, low birth weight, and increased risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, and admission to SCBU. Therefore, pregnant women with SCT should be given appropriate pre-conceptual advice and multidisciplinary antenatal and postnatal care

Non-invasive ventilation in patients with an altered level of consciousness. A clinical review and practical insights

Non-invasive ventilation has gained an increasingly pivotal role in the treatment of acute hypoxemic and/or hypercapnic respira-tory failure and offers multiple advantages over invasive mechanical ventilation. Some of these advantages include the preserva-tion of airway defense mechanisms, a reduced need for sedation, and an avoidance of complications related to endotracheal intubation.Despite its advantages, non-invasive ventilation has some contraindications that include, among them, severe encephalopathy. In this review article, the rationale, evidence, and drawbacks of the use of noninvasive ventilation in the context of hypercapnic and non-hypercapnic patients with an altered level of consciousness are analyzed

Pf7: an open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 20,000 worldwide samples

We describe the MalariaGEN Pf7 data resource, the seventh release of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation data from the MalariaGEN network.  It comprises over 20,000 samples from 82 partner studies in 33 countries, including several malaria endemic regions that were previously underrepresented.  For the first time we include dried blood spot samples that were sequenced after selective whole genome amplification, necessitating new methods to genotype copy number variations.  We identify a large number of newly emerging crt mutations in parts of Southeast Asia, and show examples of heterogeneities in patterns of drug resistance within Africa and within the Indian subcontinent.  We describe the profile of variations in the C-terminal of the csp gene and relate this to the sequence used in the RTS,S and R21 malaria vaccines.  Pf7 provides high-quality data on genotype calls for 6 million SNPs and short indels, analysis of large deletions that cause failure of rapid diagnostic tests, and systematic characterisation of six major drug resistance loci, all of which can be freely downloaded from the MalariaGEN website

Role of the Sudanese higher education institutions in the peace building process

Sudan experienced a long standing armed conflict in the south between the rebels and the central government. This 22 years old armed conflict resulted in mass displacement of people of southern Sudan to the north making Sudan to have the largest numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) mounting to 4 million and half a million refugees in the neighbouring countries. Signing of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) on January 9/2005 brought the conflict to an end. However, there is a long way to go to resolve all problems which created the conflict. CPA is a major challenge to the civil society especially institutions of higher education in both south and northern Sudan for peace building and democratic transformation. Self determination referendum of the southern people which will take place at the end of the interim period in 2011 is both an opportunity and challenge to our country. Another armed conflict suddenly erupted in Darfur region in 2003. This time all the leaders of the conflict are newer graduates of the Sudanese higher education system. The leaders of the recent conflict unlike the southern one are young, inexperienced, and fierce. A peace agreement has been forced in by the international community in Abuja in July 2005 called Darfur peace agreement (DPA). This peace agreement has recognized the need for affirmative action to upgrade the communities in Darfur with fair share in political and economic revenues. However, only one faction of the rebels signed and a large number of the fighting groups did not sign and continued hostilities. Another round of negotiations is underway but those negotiators of the rebels do not follow any reasoning during process, on the contrary stick onto very controversial points. Another peace agreement has been signed between the government and rebels of Eastern Sudan in May 2006. The peace agreement of eastern Sudan focused onto solving political, social, cultural and economic divide between the different regions of the Sudan. The latter two agreements recognize the unity and sovereignty of the country and have no mention for self determination or referendum.Peer Reviewe

Association of NOS3 gene polymorphisms with essential hypertension in Sudanese patients: a case control study

Abstract Background Essential hypertension (EH) is influenced by various environmental and genetic factors. Nitric oxide is important for the functional integrity of the vascular endothelium and is produced in endothelial cells by the enzyme endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). EH has a strong genetic component, and the NOS3 gene, which encodes eNOS, represents an interesting candidate for contribution to the phenotype. The most clinically relevant polymorphisms in the NOS3 gene are rs1799983 in exon 7 (encoding Glu298Asp), a variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in intron 4, and rs2070744 (T-786C) in the promoter region. This study aims to investigate the association between these three polymorphisms in the NOS3 gene and EH in Sudanese patients. Methods Hypertensive patients (n = 157) > 18 years of age with established hypertension from various hospitals in Khartoum, and controls (n = 85) > 18 years of age and with blood pressure measurements 1% of the Sudanese population under study. Conclusion The results of this study indicated that the rs2070744 polymorphism in NOS3 may be a genetic susceptibility factor for EH in the Sudanese population. The c allele of intron 4 VNTR is not rare in the Sudanese population

Predictive and Core-network Efficient RRC Signalling for Active State Handover in RANs with Control/Data Separation

Frequent handovers (HOs) in dense small cell deployment scenarios could lead to a dramatic increase in signalling overhead. This suggests a paradigm shift towards a signalling conscious cellular architecture with intelligent mobility management. In this direction, a futuristic radio access network with a logical separation between control and data planes has been proposed in research community. It aims to overcome limitations of the conventional architecture by providing high data rate services under the umbrella of a coverage layer in a dual connection mode. This approach enables signalling efficient HO procedures, since the control plane remains unchanged when the users move within the footprint of the same umbrella. Considering this configuration, we propose a core-network efficient radio resource control (RRC) signalling scheme for active state HO and develop an analytical framework to evaluate its signalling load as a function of network density, user mobility and session characteristics. In addition, we propose an intelligent HO prediction scheme with advance resource preparation in order to minimise the HO signalling latency. Numerical and simulation results show promising gains in terms of reduction in HO latency and signalling load as compared with conventional approaches