Potential of Indigenous Desert Grasses for Forage Production in a Water-Scarce Region

Indigenous perennial grasses are widely distributed in the Arabian Peninsula. Their survival under limited rainfall and grazing suggests a potential role as grassland species and for rehabilitation of degraded rangelands. Forage productivity and water-use efficiency (WUE) was determined over 2 years for four indigenous grasses: buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.), dakhna (Coelachyrum piercei Benth.), da’ay (Lasiurus scindicus Henr.) and tuman (Panicum turgidum Forssk.) together with one exotic species, rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth) in the central region of the United Arab Emirates. Three irrigation treatments were used: R1 (1858–6758 m3 ha-1 year-1, R2 (929–3379 m3 ha-1 year-1) and R3 (464–1689 m3 ha-1 year-1). Buffel grass had the highest dry matter (DM) yield under all irrigation treatments. The average DM yield of buffel grass was14.6 and 15.1 t ha-1 in the 2 years which was significantly higher than that for the other grasses with dakhna having the lowest DM yields. The WUE of 0.7 and 0.8 kg DM m3 in the 2 years for buffel grass was significantly greater than for the other grasses. Buffel grass showed the largest increase in WUE in both years when the irrigation was reduced from treatment R1 to R3. The results suggest that the desert grasses of the Arabian Peninsula, such as buffel grass, could be useful grass species in reducing the use of scarce irrigation water provided that seed production can be increased

Acute Urinary Tract Infections in Children in Khartoum State: Pathogens, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Associated Risk Factors

Introduction: Adequate treatment of acute urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children depends on knowledge of the local pattern of causative pathogens and associated risk factors. We explored these patterns and risk factors in a group of Sudanese children who attended the emergency department of Gaafar Ibn Auf Pediatric Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, with symptoms of acute UTI. Methods: Urine culture and sensitivity testing was performed for symptomatic children who had positive urine dipstick tests for nitrates and leuckocyte esterase. Results: Acute UTI was confirmed in 100 children, 74% of them were below 5-years of age and 35% were infants. The male-female ratio of affected children was 2.1:1 among infants, and 1:1.2 among older children. Uncircumcision and infancy were significantly more prevalent among children confirmed to have UTI compared to children with non-signifiacnt bacteruria. E. coli was the most commonly isolated pathogen (60%). Mean susceptibility of all isolates was high to gentamicin (96%), ciprofloxacin (94%), ceftriaxone (90%), and cefixime (85%). Mean susceptibility was moderate to cefuroxime (75%), nalidixic acid (74%), and nitrofurantoin (70%), and low to cephelexin (51%), cotrimoxazole (26%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (19%) and ampicillin (14%). Ultrasound scan was feasible in 89 children with confirmed UTI, revealing renal stones in six children (6.7%). Micturating cysto-urethrogram (MCUG) was indicated for 28 children but was feasible for only 15 children, revealing low-grade vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) in five of them. Conclusion: E. coli was the commonest causative organism of acute UTI in our setting. Isolated pathogens were highly resistant to conventional empiric therapy. Male uncircumcision was significantly associated with UTI among the study patients. Keywords: Acute Urinary Tract Infections, Children, Pathogens, Antimicrobial susceptibility, Suda

Correlation functions of small-scale fluctuations of the interplanetary magnetic field

The Interplanetary Magnetic Field shows complex spatial and temporal variations. Single spacecraft measurements reveal only a one dimensional section of this rich four dimensional phenomenon. Multi-point measurements of the four Cluster spacecraft provide a unique tool to study the spatiotemporal structure of the field. Using Cluster data we determined three dimensional correlation functions of the fluctuations. By means of the correlation function one can describe and measure field variations. Our results can be used to verify theoretical predictions, to understand the formation and nature of solar wind turbulence. We found that the correlation length varies over almost six orders of magnitude. The IMF turbulence shows significant anisotropy with two distinct populations. In certain time intervals the ratio of the three axes of the correlation ellipse is 1/2.2/6 while in the remaining time we found extremely high correlation along one axis. We found favoured directions in the orientation of the correlation ellipsoids.Comment: accepted to Solar Physics on June 14, 2010. 10 pages, 8 figure

FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY (FNAC) IN DIAGNOSIS OF TUMORAL CALCINOSIS, A REPORT OF THREE CASES

Introduction: Tumoral calcinosis (T.C.) is very rare and generally of unknown aetiology characterized by calcific deposits in the soft tissues. Commonly seen in the second decade of life (reported age range 15 months to 83 years). We are reporting 3 cases of T. C. who were initially diagnosed by FNAC. Two of the 3 cases were female siblings who were referred to us as possible cases of recurrent fibrosarcomas following surgical excision. Case reports:  (1) Two female siblings aged 17 and 14 years  complaining of large swelling in the upper   outer right thigh and the left outer upper thigh around the hip joints respectively. There was no limitation of movement. The masses recurred within a short period after total excision. Neither specimen was subjected to histopathology. Clinical examination showed two masses each approximately 30cm maximum diameter and 10 cm width. In addition the younger sister showed an additional mass 4.5 cm in the outer aspect of her right elbow. (2) 18 months old female child, unrelated to the above two cases, presented with an egg-sized mass in the mid-lateral aspect of her right thigh  cystic and mobile.There is a history of quinine injection in the same area. No positive family history of a similar condition. All three cases showed normocalcaemia and hyperphosphataemia with specks of calcification on x - ray and cysts in ultrasound. FNAC showed structureless gung , calcium granules and inflammatory cells including foreign body type multinucleated giant cells. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of T. C. Discussion: Described the three types of T. C. (familial, idiopathic, and that in patients of chronic renal failure on dialysis). The differential diagnoses were also discussed as well as lines of management such as Ca++ supplementation, phosphate restriction, acetazolamide, parathyroidectomy and the treatment of choice is total surgical excision. To our best knowledge this is the first time to report the use of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of T. C. in Sudan.&nbsp

Participatory plant breeding: a way to arrive at better-adapted onion varieties

The search for varieties that are better adapted to organic farming is a current topic in the organic sector. Breeding programmes specific for organic agriculture should solve this problem. Collaborating with organic farmers in such programmes, particularly in the selection process, can potentially result in varieties better adapted to their needs. Here, we assume that organic farmers' perceptive of plant health is broader than that of conventional breeders. Two organic onion farmers and one conventional onion breeder were monitored in their selection activities in 2004 and 2005 in order to verify whether and in which way this broader view on plant health contributes to improvement of organic varieties. They made selections by positive mass selection in three segregating populations under organic conditions. The monitoring showed that the organic farmers selected in the field for earliness and downy mildew and after storage for bulb characteristics. The conventional breeder selected only after storage. Farmers and breeder applied identical selection directions for bulb traits as a round shape, better hardness and skin firmness. This resulted in smaller bulbs in the breeders’ populations, while the bulbs in the farmer populations were bigger than in the original population. In 2006 and 2007 the new onion populations will be compared with each other and the original populations to determine the selection response

Kinetic Signatures and Intermittent Turbulence in the Solar Wind Plasma

A connection between kinetic processes and intermittent turbulence is observed in the solar wind plasma using measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. In particular, kinetic effects such as temperature anisotropy and plasma heating are concentrated near coherent structures, such as current sheets, which are non-uniformly distributed in space. Furthermore, these coherent structures are preferentially found in plasma unstable to the mirror and firehose instabilities. The inhomogeneous heating in these regions, which is present in both the magnetic field parallel and perpendicular temperature components, results in protons at least 3-4 times hotter than under typical stable plasma conditions. These results offer a new understanding of kinetic processes in a turbulent regime, where linear Vlasov theory is not sufficient to explain the inhomogeneous plasma dynamics operating near non-Gaussian structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Use of Gel Permeation Chromatography in Studies of Acacia Polyacantha Gum

Fractionation of Acacia polyacantha gums(Kakamut) using a gel permeation column coupled to a multi – detector system comprising light scattering, refractive index and UV detector gave an insight in the molecular mass of the gum molecules. The resultant chromatograms showed a high molecular weight(Mw) fraction associated with much of the protein present in the polymer molecule, a low molecular mass fraction of much lesser amount of protein and low molecular mass proteinaceous fraction. The molar mass distribution pattern produced for A. polyacantha differed from that obtained for A. senegal gum. However the patterns of the two types of gums differed in the proportion of each fraction. Comparison of three A. polyacantha  gum samples revealed that the Layoon soil samples (Layoon forest) showed, a higher Mw fraction (32%) than the  samples of the clay soil (Abugarin and Gargadah) 30% and 20%, respectively. &nbsp

Biochemical changes occurring during fermentation of camel milk by selected bacterial starter cultures

The biochemical changes in amino acids, water soluble vitamins, soluble sugars and organic acids occurring during fermentation (at 43°C for 6 h) of camel milk inoculated with Streptococcus thermophilus 37, Lactobacillus delbrueckii sub sp. bulgaricus CH2, Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus and mixed yogurt culture (S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus 1:1) were studied. Amino acids analysis revealed slight insignificant increase in alanine, leucine, histidine, lysine and argninie, while valine, methionine and tyrosine were slightly decreased. The fermentation process significantly decreased vitamin C contents, while it had no significant effect on riboflavin and thiamine content. Single as well as mixed culture fermentation resulted in decrease in lactose concentration with parallel increase in glucose and galactose. Organic acids analysis revealed the presence of lactic acid, formic acid and acetic acid, with yogurt culture showing the highest concentration of lactic acid, formic acid and acetic acid, while L. lactis showed lowest concentration.Key words: Camel milk, fermentation, amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, sugars