Prevalence of Acute Malnutrition in Pre-School Children in a Rural Area of Northern Sudan

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of acute malnutrition in pre-school children in Karma Albald village, Northern Sudan. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Four kindergartens in Karma Albald village, Northern Sudan. Subjects: Pre-school children attending kindergartens in Karma Albald village (n = 163). Results: Using the World Health Organization case definitions and weight-for-height growth chart, wasting was observed in 29 of 163 children (17.8%); nine children had severe wasting. Socio-economic data showed that 70 children (43%) were from large families (families with four or more children) and 40 were from ‘poor’ families; 21 fathers and 12 mothers had poor literacy. All of the risk factors associated with malnutrition that were studied (that is, economic status, family size, order of the child in the family, and other socio-economic indicators) did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: The prevalence of malnutrition was high in this cohort. Effective interventions are needed to tackle this major child health problem

Structural Efficiency of Steel Stiffening Deck Systems in Suspension Bridges Due to Gravity Loads

In this paper, suspended stiffened decks in suspension bridges are considered. Three steel deck-stiffening systems are compared structurally; the plate girder, the box girder and the stiffening truss. A three-span continuous suspension bridge model is considered. Analysis is made by the second order non-linear deflection theory in its linearized form. Developed software is used for the analysis to determine the induced tension in the cable, moments, shears and deflections of the girders for any general live load case. AASHTO criteria for steel girders are adopted. AASHTO highway live loads -HL 93- are applied to Khartoum-Tuti Suspension Bridge in Khartoum, Sudan for each type of the stiffening systems. Ten load cases are considered and discussed. Results have shown that the most efficient type to resist gravity loads is the stiffening truss, followed by the box girder and last is the plate girde

Design and Implementation of a 2.4 GHz Millimeter Wave Radar System for Soil Water Content Detection

Because water has the highest real permittivity value, close to 80, compared to dry soils\u27 real permittivity, which ranges from 3 to 15, measuring a soil\u27s permittivity is strongly reliant on its moisture content. Furthermore, increased relative permittivity leads to a larger reflectivity coefficient. According to these perspectives, adding water to dry soil generates notable changes in wet soil permittivity and modifies the reflectance and characteristics of incident electromagnetic waves (EMWs) at the soil-air interface. Thus, the soil water content (SWC) may be reliably determined by recording variations in the properties of incident EMWs compared to a reference dry soil case. This inspired us to develop a millimeter wave radar system to measure the SWC. In this paper, the design and hardware implementation of a 2.4 GHz millimeter wave radar system is introduced for SWC measurement. The SWC measurement principle of the proposed system is based on measuring the reflection coefficient of the soil-air interface. The received analog signal is amplified before it is converted into a digital signal that is sent by the Arduino microcontroller to the computer buffer via the serial communication port to be analyzed using the designed MATLAB code

Cress Seed (Lepidium sativum) Role in the healthy Processed Spread Cheese and Its Anti-Diabetic Activity

The present study dealt with utilization of cress seeds (Lepidium sativum) in the manufacture of processed spread cheese, instead of emulsifying salt. Cress seed have also health promoting properties especially lowering glucose ratios. Cress seeds powder were prepared and added with the ingredients during manufacture of processed spread cheese at levels of six ratios (0.05, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5%) compared with control (3% commercial emulsifying salt). The chemical, physical, microbiology and organoleptic properties of resultant samples were evaluated. Data revealed that processed spread cheese sample fortified with 3.5% cress seeds was the best either when fresh or during storage (8±2ºC for 3 months) and they had acceptable properties. Microstructure of processed cheese spread samples were also conducted. From nutritional view, processed cheese spread samples fortified with 3.5% cress seeds were used for feeding Adult male albino rats to study their effect on plasma glucose level. Obtained data indicated that the glucose level in plasma was significantly decreased (

Modelling, Identification and Control of A" Magnetic Levitation CE152

43 unstable, it should be linearized at optional operating point and a digital PID controller with a fine tuned parameters is designed to track a small varying input signals. Finally the simulation’s model is validated with the real system, the results show the simulation’s model is adequately represents the real magnetic levitation system

Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on growth and yield of grain sorghum variety Abu Timan

     أُجريت هذه التجربة الحقلية لموسمين زراعيين (2004/05، 2005/06) بالمزرعة الإيضاحية، كلية الزراعة أبو نعامة لمعرفة تأثير ثلاث مستويات من النتروجين على مؤشرات النمو والإنتاجية لصنف ماريق أبو تيمان (صنف محلي من غرب السودان). تمت مقارنة أبو تيمان مع صنفي قدم الحمام وود أحمد (أصناف مجازة). أظهرت الدراسة أن هنالك إختلافاً في الشكل الظاهري بين الأصناف الثلاثة .صنف أبو تيمان يتفوق في الطول (203سم) علي صنف قدم الحمام (111.4سم ) وصنف ود أحمد (111.3سم) . كما أن القنابات لصنف أبوتيمان تحتوي علي بذرتين بينما تحتوي علي بذرة وأحدة للصنفين الآخرين . من نتائج الدراسة تبين أن أبوتيمان متأخر في الأزهار بينما ود أحمد كان المبكر في الإزهار . كان عدد الأيام لـ 50% أزهار لكل من أبوتيمان ، قدم الحمام وود أحمد 86 ، 76 ، 73  علي التوالي . تأثير إضافة سماد النتروجين علي مؤشرات مكونات الإنتاج  - عدد البذور في القندول ووزن الألف بذرة والإنتاجية غير معنوي . أثبتت الدراسة أن الصنف قدم الحمام قد حقق أعلي إنتاجية (5.42 ، 6.55 طن/هـ) وماريق أبو تيمان في المرتبة الثانية بإنتاجية (4.99 ، 6.48 طن/هـ ) وفي المرتبة الأخيرة ود أحمد بإنتاجية (4.04 ،6.04 طن/هـ) في موسمي 2004/05 و2005/06مد بإنتاجية (4.اجية (بذور في القندول ووزن الألف بذرة والإنتاجية لم يكن معزياً . ، علي التوالي . إضافة 2N (86 كجم نتروجين/هـ) أدي إلي زيادة معنوية في إنتاجية أصناف الذرة الرفيعة الثلاثة في موسم (2005/06) . نتائج الدراسة توضح أن ماريق أبو تيمان له مقدره إنتاجية عالية. والتوصية بالمزيد من الدراسات لتحديد المعاملات الفلاحية المناسبة للحصول علي أعلي إنتاجية ممكنة

Context-aware recommender system for multi-user smart home

Smart home is one of the most important applications of the internet of things (IoT). Smart home makes life simpler, easier to control, saves energy based on user’s behavior and interaction with the home appliances. Many existing approaches have designed a smart home system using data mining algorithms. However, these approaches do not consider multiusers that exist in the same location and time (which needs a complex control). They also use centralized mining algorithm, then the system’s efficiency is reduced when datasets increase. Therefore, in this paper, we firstly build a context-aware recommender system that considers multi-user’s preferences and solves their conflicts by using unsupervised algorithms to deliver useful recommendation services. Secondly, we improve smart home’s responsive using parallel computing. The results reveal that the proposed method is better than existing approaches

Urban regeneration and the transformation of the urban waterfront: a case study of Liverpool waterfront regeneration

The transformation of urban waterfronts is one of the key urban design and planning stories of the late twentieth century. The decline of the waterfront in post-industrial cities meant the deterioration of both a physical and social nature of significant portions of urban fabric. Cities have reacted to this state of affairs with substantial regeneration programs, approaching the decline of waterfront as an opportunity rather than a problem. However, since the success of early regeneration programs in North America, changing urban waterfronts on a global scale has led to a manifestation of globalisation, becoming a synonym of uniformity and monotony of cities. The urban waterfront also has become a battleground for a number of intersecting forces and different interests and desires. This research aims to study the phenomenon of urban waterfront regeneration, specifically analysing how it has operated within the UK context since the late 20th century until the present. It focuses on investigating the process of transformation of the urban waterfront in the city of Liverpool. Liverpool has suffered from a serious urban decline following the degeneration of its seven miles of docks due to a number of internal and external factors. However, since the 1980s, the image of an abandoned waterfront has started to change with massive waterfront regeneration schemes that aim to improve the physical, environmental, social and economic conditions of the area. This research argues that by understanding the process and the context of this regeneration, several lessons can be learned and models of good practice can be identified. The research is based on a series of lengthy interviews with key stakeholders closely linked with the development in the city, a review of documents related to the regeneration of Liverpool waterfront, including urban design policies and guidance, a substantial review of relevant news articles that were written throughout the periods of the recent transformation of the city, and numerous site visits to reflect upon the development carried out recently. The research also identifies and discusses a number of key urban issues such as image and identity, cultural built heritage, place marketing and branding, urban governance. The research identifies three distinctive eras of waterfront regeneration and several key regeneration schemes. Each of these eras reflects the many factors that shaped the urban landscape. The research argues that there are no specific models that can create successful waterfront regeneration, yet, what is important is ensuring the complexity and the inclusiveness of the process of the regeneration. An inclusive and a complex process will result in attaining urban competitiveness besides securing distinctive, genuine and imaginative urban identity. The research also highlighted the central role of urban design as a mediator between the numerous processes and different forces that shape the urban landscape

Étude du rapport entre la géométrie des fils et la rugosité des tissus

La suavidad de los tejidos es difícilmente cuantificable puesto que está asociada a una serie de sensaciones subjetivas. Se ha intentado evaluar objetivamente mediante diversos métodos. Uno de los parámetros cuantificables más importantes, que diversos autores relacionan con el tacto de los tejidos es su aspereza o rugosidad superficial. En este trabajo se estudia la relación entre la rugosidad superficial de una serie de tejidos y la deformación filar de los hilados que los constituyen; la deformación filar depende de la geometría de los hilados y esta, a su vez está condicionada por diversas variables. En el trabajo se establecen las relaciones entre la deformación filar y la composición, título y torsión de los hilados de PES/CV, en un intento de poder establecer como influyen estas variables en la rugosidad de los tejidos.The smoothness of the fabrics is hardly quantifies since is associated to a series of subjective sensations. It has been tried to evaluate objectively by means of diverse methods. One of the more important measurable parameters that diverse authors relate to the smoothless of a fabric is its superficial roughness. The present work studies the relationship between the superficial roughness of a series of fabrics and the deformation of the yarns that constitute them. The yarn deformation depends on the geometry of the yarn and this is, as well, depending of diverse variables. In the work the relationships between the yarn deformation and the account and torsion of yarns of different PES/CV compositions are also studied in an attempt of how these variables influence the superficial roughness of the fabrics.La douceur des tissus est difficilement quantifiable car elle est associée à une série de sensations subjectives. Elle a fait l'objet d'une tentative d'évaluation objective à l'aide de plusieurs méthodes. L'un des paramètres quantifiables les plus importants, que divers auteurs associent au tact des tissus, est leur âpreté ou rugosité superficielle. Cette étude porte sur le rappot entre la rugosité superficielle d'un série de tissus et la déformation filaire des filés qui les constituent; la déformation filaie dépend de la géométrie des filés et celle-ci est, à son tour, conditionnée par plusieurs variables. Des rapports son établis entre la déformation filaire et la composition, le titre et la torsion des filés de PES/CV, pour tenter d'établir comment ces variables jouent sur la rugosité des tissus