Study of High Pressure Heaters and Its Influence on Operation Cost in Power Plants: Case Study Garri -4

Electricity is one of the most important achievements that modern sciences have given to mankind. It became a part of modern life and one cannot think of a world without it. It has many uses in our daily life. Recently, in Sudan, there are some problems related to its continuity and availability of electrical and thermal power generation. This paper presents a part of the solution for the generation of thermal power for Garri-4. The characteristics of electrical energy are sustainability, easy transmission, and easy utilization. All these factors make electrical energy desirable. The main problem of electrical power is the high cost of production due to the high cost of fuel. Through the centuries, there is a lot of work done to reduce the energy cost, by rising up the efficiency and increase the performance of the systems. This paper shows the effect of high-pressure (HP) heaters out of service in the Garri-4 power plant. It aims to investigate the influence of HP heaters on the power plant's overall performance. The mathematical modeling is used through thermodynamic and heat transfer equations to study the efficiency and the operation cost for the power plant. The paper concludes that HP heaters have a clear influence on the power plant performance by increasing the overall power plant efficiency and reduce the operation cost. It also makes it less harmful to the environment through less emission due to less fuel consumption. There is an increase the overall power plant efficiency by 3.78% , 1.03%., and 2.56%, from 27.67%, for different cases studied in this paper

Integrated framework to mitigate risks in Giad group's strategy implementation

In today's competitive business environment, business entities are faced with greater uncertainties (threats and opportunities) as they strive to create value. In the wake of the current global economic crisis, businesses in a bid to stay competitive have taken several crucial measures. However, for companies to keep track of their strategies, achieve their strategic objectives and reduce the impact of uncertainties, appropriate decisions should be made with a solution that reduces the impact of risks. Technical reports from companies showed that there is deviation from their original strategic plan tracks, and they are unable to achieve their strategic objectives. A preliminary study was conducted to identify the factors that lead to inefficiencies during strategic plan implementation. The result of the preliminary study showed that there is lack of risk management, especially information and incentive alignment risks. This research aims to propose a framework that mitigates risks during strategy implementation, through how the key choices made in strategy will either increase or reduce two characteristic types of risk (information and incentive alignment risks). These two types of risk (which are not mentioned in depth in other or past types of risk management categories) are the key inefficiency creators in the strategic planning and decision making that arise because of decision patterns. The proposed framework considers how to question the key decisions and how to turn inefficiencies into opportunities and points of power to create value. The proposed framework also presents essential fundamental concepts and enablers for achieving sustainable performance such as developing organizational capability, creative thinking, innovation, agility, succeeding through people and sustained outstanding results. The framework presents a mechanism to identify and assess the information and incentive alignment risks in the key decisions. The developed framework helps to reinvent desired strategic performance which lies in changing how decisions are made. The developed framework was validated via Subject Matter Experts (Strategy and risk management experts from GIAD Group Business Units and academic institutions). The feedback from the experts showed that the proposed framework is capable of managing risks during strategy implementation and can be implemented successfully

IN VITRO ANTIMCROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MANGIFERA INDICA L

The chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts    of Mangifera indica seeds  were     subjected to preliminary    antimicrobial  activity against   two Gram- positive bacteria   (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus ) three Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris,  Pseudomonas aeruginosa  and two fungi, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans.The seeds chloroform and methanol extracts showed high activity   against   all organisms tested. The aqueous   extract showed high activity against both Gram-positive    organisms   and    one   Gram-negative bacteria namely Proteus vulgaris, low     activity     against Escherichia coli,  and was   inactive against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.   Therefore the active chloroform and  methanol extracts were further tested against sixty clinical ; Staphyllococcus aureus (n=15 ), Escherichia coli (n=15 ), Proteus vulgaris  (n=15 ) and  Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=15 ) and the aqueous extract was tested against thirty clinical isolates of Staphyllococcus aureus (n=15 ) and Proteus vulgaris  (n=15 ) collected randomly from  specimens from Sudanese patients.  The clinical isolates exhibited low susceptibility compared to the standard organisms. The standard organisms were tested against reference antibiotics (Ampicillin and Gentamicin). It was found that the chloroform extract of Mangifera indica seeds at 200 mg/ml was more effective than 20mg/ml Ampicillin and15ug/ml Gentamicin against the majority of the organisms tested.The methanol extract   at 200mg/ml was more effective than 40mg/ml Gentamicin against the organisms tested.The aqueous extract was more effective than 40mg/ml Ampicillin against the majority of the organisms tested. All  extracts were inactive against Aspergillus niger.Both chloroform and methanol extracts were active  against Candida albicans while the aqueous extract was inactive. Therefore C.albicans is more susceptible than A.niger.The chloroform extract inhibited C.albicans with inhibitory action between 25-50mg/ml  Nystatin and the methanol extract inhibited C.albicans with inhibitory action almost similar to 10mg /ml Clotrimazole.Therefore the high activity of the plant might justify its uses in traditional medicine

Curriculum Development of the Faculties of the Health and Agricultural Sectors University of Gezira 15.12.2011 to 15.6.2012

The University of Gezira adopts nobel goals, community orientation and community development- and it set curricula capable of achieving those goals which are essential for sustainability of its excellence. Periodic development, upgrading and modernization of curricula is a fundamental requirement for all universities; knowledge is growing and changing very fast, also there are rapid changes in community needs and expectations and hence  graduates should be equipped with competencies which enable them to contribute significantly and efficiently in the total development of their societies. The University has a wealth of experience in development of its curricula since its foundation and hence it included it as one of the main four components of the University Development Project. The project is sponsored by the Islamic Bank for Development-Jeddah and the Ministry of Finance Sudan and has been launched in December 2011. The Project aimed to develop the Faculties of agricultural and health sectors- curricula, manpower and infrastructure. Those sectors were chosen to be sectors of excellence for students in the Islamic countries. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Gezira formed a committee to manage the whole task of development of all the curricula of the faculties in the health and agricultural sectors; Medicine, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Animal Production, Veterinary Medicine, Applied Medical Sciences, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Sciences. The committee set the justifications, determined its strategies and designed the process of its work. The whole task was accomplished in the stipulated time - 4 months

ACCREDITATION OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF GEZIRA (FMUG), PILOT STUDY

The Faculty of Medicine University of Khartoum was founded in 1924 and has graduated the majority of doctors in the Sudan. In recent years the government invested heavily in higher education and 26 new medical schools have been established and are now functioning and graduating doctors. Those new schools adopted different models of curricula, however most of them benefited from the Gezira medical school experience and hence their curricula are innovative. The large number of schools and the diversity in their curricular models fueled interest in the Sudan General Medical Council and the Ministry of Higher Education to establish a national mechanism for evaluating those schools and ensuring the society that they graduate doctors with optimum standard

Association Between Hemoglobin A1C and the Severity of Acute Ischemic Stroke in Sudanese Patients in Omdurman Military Hospital

Background: Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) levels are known to be linked to a higher risk of stroke. However, no research data is available on the impact of HbA1C on the severity of acute ischemic stroke in Sudan. Methods: This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional hospital-based study of 40 cases of acute ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke was confirmed using computed tomography (CT) scan at admission; all subjects’ blood HbA1C levels were also measured. Participants were divided into two subgroups based on HbA1C at admission, good glycemic control (GGC) (<7 HbA1C) and poor glycemic control (PGC) (>7 HbA1C), and neurological impairment was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Results: The age distribution of the participants was 45-85 years, with an average age of 63.5±9.2 years with the highest frequency (67.5%) in the age group of 55-75 years. PGC had a statistically significant high HbA1C value of 8.9±1.3 (P=0.000), when compared to GGC subgroups 5.1±0. The association between stroke severity and HbA1C levels on admission in this study was statistically significant (P value=0.005), on admission (78.6%) PGC had moderate to severe stroke (> 18.8 NIHSS) versus (33.3%) that of the GGC (>10.4NIHSS). The frequency of elevated HbA1C levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke was 70% in this study. Conclusion: PGC was shown to be linked to the occurrence of stroke and to its severity

Farmers' perceptions of climate change and its impact on gum Talha (Acacia seyal var. seyal) production in Bahar Alarab locality, East Darfur State, Sudan

Acacia seyal var. seyal is an essential source of income to farmers in the Bahar Alarab locality in Sudan. Farmers’ perceptions of current climate conditions and their subsequent repercussions on Gum Talha (Acacia seyal var. seyal) production remains poorly investigated and understood. To fill this gap, a survey was carried out within six villages at Bahar Alarab locality in East Darfur State, Sudan, and a total of 391 randomly selected farmers were included in the study. Moreover, rainfall and temperature data over 30 years (1988 – 2020) were analysed. The results revealed that climate change signs were perceived by farmers based on the size of gum production (27.4%), early falling of leaves (26.1%), decline in production (24.3%), and persistent insect attack (22.3%). Moreover, farmers also reported increases (65%) and decreases (19%) in temperature. In contrast, 46.5% of farmers reported that rainfall deficiency was a decreasing factor of production. Accordingly, 69% of respondents perceived an increase in temperature, whereas 49.4% reported a decrease in rainfall frequency. Additionally, the results showed that there was long-term variability in temperature over the past three decades. The results of multinomial logistic regression highlighted that household size is an important factor contributing to the increasing trend of temperature. In addition, the growth and productivity of acacia trees were found to be determinants of farmers’ perception of temperature and precipitation change over the past 30 years. The study suggests a tailored policy that could reduce climate-induced impacts on gum Talha productivity and increase farmers’ gain to avoid poverty in this locality

Prevalence of smoking cigarettes and beliefs regarding smoking habits among medical students: a cross-sectional study in Sudan

BackgroundSmoking is a common problem in university students worldwide. Smoking is one of the most dangerous social phenomena and has a significant impact on public health. This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of medical students toward smoking in Sudan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students at Al Neelain University, Sudan, from March to June 2022 using a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of eight items on demographic characteristics and 13 on the beliefs and attitudes toward smoking. Other data included smoking status, smoking habits, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and smoking duration. Data analysis was performed descriptively, and chi-square test and logistic regression were conducted using SPSS version 24. Statistical significance was set at 0.05.ResultsA total of 336 students participated in this study, and the smoking prevalence was 48.8% (41.1% in men and 7.7% in women). In total, 76.8% reported smoking daily at a rate of 5–10 cigarettes per day. In terms of students’ beliefs about smoking, 86.8% disagreed with selling cigarettes at the university. Of the respondents, 68.4% did not approve smoking on campus. There was a relationship between smoking habits and the age group of 22–25 years, which was the highest smoking category among students (p-value = 0.01).ConclusionThe prevalence of cigarette smoking among medical students is disturbing, particularly as they are future doctors. There is a need to include plans to reduce smoking among students that can be incorporated into courses and special programs