Rotavirus infection among Sudanese children younger than 5 years of age: A cross sectional hospital-based study

Introduction: In Sudan, rotavirus has been one of the important causative agents of diarrhea among children. Rotavirus A is well known as the leading cause of diarrhea in young children worldwide. It was estimated to  account for 41% of hospitalized cases of acute gastroenteritis among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to determine the  prevalence and the common clinical presentations of rotavirus A infection among Sudanese children with gastroenteritis seeking management in hospitals.Methods: 755 Sudanese children less than 5 years of age suffering from acute gastroenteritis in hospital settings were included. The positive stool specimens for rotavirus A was used for extract Ribonucleic acid (RNA) and the RNA product was loaded on formaldehyde agarose gel and visualized under UV illumination.Results: Of the 755 children, 430(57%) were males while 325(43%) were female. The age of children ranged from 1 to 60  months. There were 631 (84%) children who were less than 24 months of age. Out of the 755 stool samples, 121(16%) were positive for rotavirus. Of the 121 infected children with rotavirus, 79(65.3%) were male and  42(34.7%) were female and the highest infection rate was seen among 91(75.2%) of children up to 12 months of age. Children of illiterate parents were more infected with rotavirus than children of educated  parents. Severe dehydration present among 70% of infected children with rotavirus. Conclusion: Since this study is hospital-bas Conclusion:ed, the 16%  prevalence rate may not reflect the true prevalence among Sudanese children, thus a community-based surveillance is needed

DEFINING INDICATORS OF COOPERATION NETWORKING ANDLEARNING DEVELOPMENT IN PORT-ZONES’ NEIGHBORHOODS:APPLICABILITY IN ALEXANDRIA AND PORT SUDAN

Lately, Cooperation Learning & Networking Development programs (CNL) has approved success in achieving rapid growth in urban areas. Its potentiality to afford remarkable improvement supports the joint learning and cooperative innovation processes in different cities in different territories. Also, networking for cooperative learning is benefiting the technological development in communication means and social media to provide wider involvement in urban growth to achieve better life cities. This paper is aiming to understand the constituents of CNL in urban development. Also, it targets neighborhoods in port areas which need prompt, effective and collective improvement in the urban life of cities in developing countries. This research is held by studying the possibility and applicability of a suggested project for 9 neighborhoods at port zones in Alexandria (Egypt) and Port Sudan (Sudan). The research identifies the potentiality of CNL development by considering assessing indicator. These indicators are studied throughout SWOT analysis and opportunities’ exploring for the prospective growth towards a sustainable development. It also suggests a future extension for the project to include more port zones in similar cities in the region to achieve common goals

Safety and immunogenicity of an autoclaved Leishmania major vaccine

Objective: To test the safety and immunogenicity of two doses of autoclaved L.major (ALM) vaccine mixed with BCG.Setting: Kala-azar endemic area of eastern Sudan.Design: This was a randomised, double blind and BCG controlled phase I/II study.Subjects: Eighty healthy volunteers (forty children and forty adults) with no past history of kala-azar, no reactivity to leishmanin antigen and with a reciprocal direct agglutination test (DAT) titre o

The potential to control Haemonchus contortus in indigenous South African goats with copper oxide wire particles

The high prevalence of resistance of Haemonchus contortus to all major anthelmintic groups has prompted investigations into alternative control methods in South Africa, including the use of copper oxide wire particle (COWP) boluses. To assess the efficacy of COWP against H. contortus in indigenous South African goats, 18 male faecal egg-count-negative goats were each given ca.1200 infective larvae of H. contortus three times per week during weeks 1 and 2 of the experiment. These animals made up an “established” infection group (ESTGRP). At the start of week 7, six goats were each given a 2-g COWP bolus orally; six goats received a 4-g COWP bolus each and six animals were not treated. A further 20 goats constituted a “developing” infection group (DEVGRP). At the beginning of week 1, seven of the DEVGRP goats were given a 2-g COWP bolus each; seven goats were treated with a 4-g COWP bolus each and no bolus was given to a further six animals. During weeks 1–6, each of these DEVGRP goats was given ca. 400 H. contortus larvae three times per week. All 38 goats were euthanized for worm recovery from the abomasa and small intestines in week 11. In the ESTGRP, the 2-g and 4-g COWP boluses reduced the worm burdens by 95% and 93%, respectively compared to controls (mean burden ± standard deviation, SD: 23 ± 33, 30 ± 56 and 442 ± 518 worms, P = 0.02). However, in the DEVGRP goats, both the 2-g and 4-g COWP treatments were ineffective in reducing the worm burdens relative to the controls (mean burdens ± SD: 1102 ± 841, 649 ± 855, 1051 ± 661 worms, P = 0.16). Mean liver copper levels did not differ between the ESTGRP goats treated with 2-g COWP, 4-g COWP or no COWP (mean ± standard error of the mean, SEM, in ppm: 93.7 ± 8.3; 101.5 ± 8.3; 71.8 ± 8.3, P = 0.07) nor did they differ between the DEVGRP goats (mean ± SEM, in ppm: 74.1 ± 9.1; 75.4 ± 9.1; 74.9 ± 10.0, P > 0.99). The copper values were considered adequate, but not high, for goats. The COWP boluses have the potential to be used in the place of conventional anthelmintics for the control of established H. contortus infections in indigenous South African goats, but their use as part of an integrated approach to control H. contortus in the field must be fully investigated

English Second Language (ESL) students as new members of a community of practice: Some thoughts for learning and assessment

This article reports on English second language (ESL) students’ experiences of academic writing in a university setting. It draws on the notion of community of practice to explain that it is not sufficient for academic literacy courses to concern themselves only with the questions relating to the development of student academic literacy. Rather they should also be concerned with how students learn in social contexts and what knowledge is included and what knowledge is excluded. Such an orientation is vital because academic writing in the context of the university is more than just the ability to read and write, it is often the basis for the evaluation of students and, as such, becomes a powerful gatekeeper

Burden of visceral leishmaniasis in villages of eastern gedaref state, Sudan: an exhaustive cross-sectional survey.

Since December 2009, Médecins Sans Frontières has diagnosed and treated patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Tabarak Allah Hospital, eastern Gedaref State, one of the main endemic foci of VL in Sudan. A survey was conducted to estimate the VL incidence in villages around Tabarak Allah

Micronutrient status and intervention programs in Malaysia

Approximately 70% of the world's malnourished children live in Asia, giving that region the highest concentration of childhood malnutrition worldwide. Prevalence of stunting and underweight are high especially in south Asia where one in every two preschool children is stunted. Iron-deficiency anemia affects 40%-50% of preschool and primary schoolchildren. Nearly half of all vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia in the world occurs in south and southeast Asia. Iodine deficiency disorders have resulted in high goiter rates in India, Pakistan, and parts of Indonesia. Compared with other developing countries in Asia, the nutrition situation in Malaysia is considerably better, owing to rapid economic and socioeconomic development that has occurred since Malaysia gained its independence in 1957. Prevalence of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency is markedly lower in Malaysian children. Nonetheless, undernutrition in the form of underweight, stunting, and anemia can be found in poor communities throughout the country. A prevalence of 25% underweight and 35% stunting is reported among young children from poor rural households. Anemia and subclinical forms of vitamin A deficiency were reported in children under 5 years old. Typical of a country in nutrition transition, Malaysia faces the dual burden of malnutrition in children, with the persistence of undernutrition problems especially among the poor and the emerging overweight problem especially in urban areas. Since 1996, nutrition programs of the government sector are coordinated under the National Plan of Action for Nutrition. These activities and other nutrition intervention efforts by other agencies are discussed in this paper

Progress report no. 7

Statement of responsibility on title-page reads: editor: M.J. Driscoll; contributors: D.C. Aldrich, M.J. Driscoll, O.K. Kadiroglu, S. Keyvan, H.U.R. Khan, D.D. Lanning, R. Morton, J. Pasztor, T.J. Reckart, A.A. Salehi, J.I. Shin, A.T. Supple, D.J. Wargo, and S.S. WuIncludes bibliographical referencesProgress report; September 30, 1976U.S. Atomic Energy Commission contracts: E(11-1) 225

The effects of variability in bank material properties on riverbank stability: Goodwin Creek, Mississippi

Bank retreat is an important area of research within fluvial geomorphology and is a land management problem of global significance. The Yazoo River Basin in Mississippi is one example of a system which is experiencing excessive erosion and bank instability. The properties of bank materials are important in controlling the stability of stream banks and past studies have found that these properties are often variable spatially. Through an investigation of bank material properties on a stretch of Goodwin Creek in the Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, this study focuses on: i) how and why effective bank material properties vary through different scales; ii) how this variation impacts on the outputs from a bank stability model; and iii) how best to appropriately represent this variability within a bank stability model. The study demonstrates the importance that the variability of effective bank material properties has on bank stability: at both the micro-scale within a site, and at the meso-scale between sites in a reach. This variability was shown to have important implications for the usage of the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM), a deterministic bank stability model that currently uses a single value to describe each bank material property. As a result, a probabilistic representation of effective bank material strength parameters is recommended as a potential solution for any bank stability model that wishes to account for the important influence of the inherent variability of soil properties. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved