Development and Social Justice: Education, Training and Health in Sudan

This paper discusses the importance of sound policies for achieving social development and social justice in provision of education, training and health services in Sudan. Different from Sudanese literature, we provide new contributions by explaining the low commitment to the standardized international equity criterion related to the supply-demand sides and provision of education, training and health services in Sudan. We fill an important gap in Sudanese literature by explaining that regional inequality in the demand for education (share in enrolment in education) is most probably due to economic reasons (per capita income and poverty rate), demographic reasons (share in total population) and other reasons (degree of urbanization) in Sudan. We find that the increase in the incidence of high poverty rates and low per capita incomes seem to be the most important factor limiting the demand for education, notably, demand for primary education, especially for females in Sudan. The major policy implication from our findings is that poverty eradication is key for the achievement of universal access to primary education, gender equality, equity, social justice and therefore, fulfilment of the second and third UN-MDGs in Sudan by 2015. We recommend further efforts to be made to improve equitable provision of education, training and health services to enhance social justice and social development in Sudan

Assessment of the impacts of oil: Opportunities and challenges for economic development in Sudan

This paper provides an assessment of the impacts of oil and discusses the opportunities and challenges for enhancing economic development in Sudan. One advantage of our analysis in this paper is that we provide a more comprehensive analysis using the most recent secondary data to discuss the positive and negative impacts of oil for enhancing economic development in Sudan. We explain that the various positive impacts of oil and the opportunities for enhancing development in Sudan's economy include the impacts of oil in satisfying domestic consumption and achievement of self sufficiency, increasing government and public revenues, rapid and impressive economic growth as measured by the growth in the GDP and its composition and structure, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) and increasing the volume of foreign trade as measured by the volume and structure of exports. We find that while oil has recently contributed to the improvement of economic performance in the country, the recent heavy dependence on it, may lead to negative impacts and serious challenges for the Sudan since oil is an exhaustible resource and because of the instability of oil prices in the international market the revenue from oil is uncertain and volatile and may lead to instability of economic growth. Moreover, the increasing dependence on oil leads to increasing debate for and against the incidence of the Dutch Disease in Sudan economy, the lack of diversification and the challenges related to potential north-south conflict and division of the country.oil economy, oil impacts, economic development, Sudan

Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English Websites: Agenda-Setting as a Means to Comparatively Analyze Online News Stories

This study seeks to investigate similarities or differences in the content of news stories published on Al Jazeera Arabic (AJA) and Al Jazeera English (AJE) websites. Guided by agenda-setting theory 2,400 online news stories were analyzed. Findings indicate that on fewer than 8% of the time do AJA and AJE display the same news story on their websites. Since Al Jazeera’s target audience differs depending on the language, the study argues that AJA and AJE set the agenda for two sets of news consumers. This is fairly significant as Al Jazeera seeks to play a greater role in news dissemination to a global audience. Al Jazeera deliberately seeks to highlight a certain news item, such as the almost daily coverage of the crisis between Qatar and four other Arab countries in the summer of 2017, thereby actively engaging in agenda-setting. Findings also indicate that AJA publishes more news stories pertaining to the Arab world than AJE. AJA’s coverage of the African and South American continents is relatively low compared to the Arab region, thereby directing audience’s attention to events and issues closer to Al Jazeera’s home base of Qatar. The study also argues that news consumers play a significant role in determining the news items displayed by news outlets

Evaluation of the Quality of Academic Programs in Colleges of Applied Studies and Community Services Kingdum of Saudi

Universities are scientific and educational institutions that aims to achieve many academic, research and community service objectives, the matter that has given it importance in the field of scientific, technological and service development. Because of the open door policy in higher education in many countries, which depends on quantitative and not qualitative expansion, it was always necessary to conduct review of the performance of universities and educational institutions in order to evaluate these institutions and ensure that they meet the quality requirements and standards. Evaluation of academic programs quality is one of the important contexts that modern research seeks to cover, study, and address. The quality assessment of academic programs enables universities to explore strengths and weaknesses in their academic performance, and provide them with the opportunity to make adjustments and develop plans for change and development based on accurate data analysis. Which contributes to the achievement of the high educational valuable mission and the achievement of academic goals, and deals with the complexities and difficulties associated with academic programs. Moreover, it contributes to highlight the shortcomings areas that require a degree of responsibility and accountability from decision and policy makers. Hence evaluating academic programs will be   reflection of the aspirations of the universities (Ali Alqazo.2017) Based on the Evaluation of the quality of academic programs offered by the Colleges of Applied Studies from the perspective of stakeholders (students, faculty members and employers), this study results prove that academic programs of the faculties of applied studies in Saudi public universities are of medium quality from the students, faculty staff and employers points of view. DOI: 10.7176/IKM/9-3-03 Publication date:March 31st 201

Plasma level of von Willebrand factor: An indicator of severity in sickle cell disease

Background: Sickle cell anaemia is a congenital hemolytic disorder caused by mutation in the â-globin gene at position 6 with replacement of glutamic acid by valine. Patients who arehomozygous for this mutation suffer from hemolytic anaemia and other serious complications. Theunderlying pathology of much of these complications is the occurrence of recurrent vasoocclusion due to microthrombi formation resulting in organs ischaemia. Methods: In this study we investigated the role of vWF as a determinant of sickle cell disease severity through its contribution to the formation of such microthrombi. The clinical disease severity was determined using two different scoring methods, and vWF antigen level in the plasma was estimated by using ELISA technique.Results and discussion: Seventy Sudanese patients were investigated in this study. They were 35 females and 35 males, the mean of their ages± standard deviation was 6.8 ± 4.7 years. Seventeen controls with normal haemoglobin were also included with mean age of 6.5 years. Thirty four patients presented during vasoocclusive crisis and 36 presented in steady state. vWF was high (179.83%) among patients compared to controls (82.4%), p< 0.001. there was positive correlation between severity score and vWF level in the plasma in steady state in the two scoring methods used ( r = 0.79, p = 0.008 for method I and r = 0.78, p = 0.009 for method II). So, Severity of sickle cell disease increases with elevation of vWF level in the plasma in the steady state.Keywords: Keywords: sickle cell, disease severity, vonWillebrand factor

Primary nocturnal enuresis in children presenting to the outpatient Department of Khartoum ENT Teaching Hospital with adenotonsillar hypertrophy

ABSTRACT Background: Primary Nocturnal Enuresis (PNE) is a common health problem seen in childhood. It has many risk factors that can play a role in its etiology including an untreated adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) which is the most common etiology of obstructed sleep apnea (OSA). Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of PNE in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) and to reveal the relation of PNE with severity of ATH in Sudanese children. Material and Methods: A total of two hundreds and ninety patients diagnosed with ATH were recruited in this prospective study with age ranging from 5 to 15 years. The study was conducted in Khartoum ENT teaching hospital from Jan. to May 2012. Results: From 290 patients with adenotonsillar hypertrophy, 114 (39.3%) were proved to have primary nocturnal enuresis. From these 114 children, 86 (75.4%) were wetting their beds at least once a week. Almost half of the study population had grade 3 adenotonsillar hypertrophy. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between frequency of primary nocturnal enuresis and grading of adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Conclusion: Prevalence of primary nocturnal enuresis in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy was high (40%). Children presenting with nocturnal enuresis should be evaluated for adenotonsillar hypertrophy. There is no association between primary nocturnal enuresis and severity of upper airway obstruction caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy

Antioxidant activity, Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents and Cytotoxic activity of Euphorbia aegyptiaca

Euphorbia aegyptiaca is a herbaceous plant traditionally used in Sudan for treatment of various diseases, and the study of this plant is still limited. The aim of the present study was to screen the phytochemicals and to assess the Antioxidant activity, total phenolic, flavonoid contents and cytotoxic activity of Euphorbia aegyptiaca. The plant material was extracted successively by Soxhlet apparatus using n-hexane, chloroform and methanol. The chemical constituents of the extracts were carried out using the standard procedures. The Folin- Ciocalteu and Aluminium chloride method was employed to calculate the total phenolic and flavonoid content, respectively. The antioxidant activity, was assessed by measuring the scavenging activity of the DPPH (2.2Di (4-tert-octylphenyl)-1-picryl-hydrazyl) and Propyl Gallate as standard antioxidants. While cytotoxic activities were screened using brine shrimp. Phytochemical screening studies revealed that flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, saponins, sterols, terpenes, anthraquinones and alkaloids were the main phytochemicals present in extracts of E. aegyptiaca. The methanol extract showed the highest level of total phenolic contents (173.49±2.427 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid content (239.53±7.90 mg QE/g), and the highest antioxidant activity 89% with least (IC50 0.0449µg/ml), and the no toxicity against brine shrimp (LD50 3423.156). Furthermore, no toxicity in all extracts was observed. The present study is the first evaluation regarding the characterization of E. aegyptiaca and its safety, and the results demonstrate its antioxidant potential and suggest its safe therapeutic use. The results suggest that methanol extract is a rich source of phytochemicals and exhibits highest amount of and total phenolic, flavonoid content and significant antioxidant activity and it has no cytotoxic activity. E. aegyptiaca plant can be regarded as a promising Source of naturally occurring potential antioxidants. Keywords: Euphorbia aegyptiaca, Sudan, Antioxidant, Total phenolic, total flavonoid, Cytotoxicity

Employee Perspectives of Working Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way work is performed, shifting it from conventional offices into virtual environments. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has attempted to face and embrace these challenges nationally in a supportive and coordinated manner, offering reasoned solutions with the wise vision and continuous support of its leadership. This paper examines the transition of work at one of the most influential entities in the UAE; the Ministry of Education (MOE). The purpose here is to highlight the impact of this transition on employees of all levels within the ministry. This paper evaluates the experience of remote working at the MOE from employees’ perspectives by assessing the following key factors: MOE readiness, employee satisfaction, and employee productivity. For this purpose, a survey of around 1,500 employees was conducted and analyzed, where each of these three key factors was broken down into several contributing factors. This paper offers insights regarding the activation of remote working systems for employees in response to unanticipated incidents, highlighting a variety of factors which contribute to their readiness, satisfaction, and productivity. This study analyzes the value and originality of MOE remote working practices and their impact on the wider community. Keywords: Working remotely, telework, remote work, virtual environments, COVID19 DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-33-03 Publication date: November 30th 2020

Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma of the Lacrimal Gland: Sustained Remission after Eradication of Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is the third most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and it is strongly associated with helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach. MALT lymphoma of the lacrimal gland usually presents as a localized disease process in extranodal tissues. The treatment options of MALT lymphoma of the lacrimal gland chiefly include radiation of the tumor, chemotherapy, surgical removal, or a combination of these strategies. We report a case of localized MALT lymphoma of the lacrimal gland, with prolonged sustained remission after eradication of gastric Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infection. He sustains in remission of lacrimal MALT lymphoma for four years without chemotherapy or radiotherapy