Shear strength of prestressed concrete beams without shear reinforcement

Abstract available p.

Some null submanifolds of indefinite nearly Sasakian manifolds.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.We investigate some geometric aspects of indefinite nearly Sasakian manifolds. We study specific cases of null submanifolds, namely, invariant, GCR, Screen transversal and Radical screem transversal null submanifolds. Under some conditions there exist leaves that are nearly Sasakian, immersed in the ambient manifold as submanifolds. Furthermore, we give some geometric configuration of the existence of totally geodesic foliations in some distributions

Effect of feeding raw and processed Meskit (Prosopis juliflora) pods on serum biochemistry and histopathology of the liver and kidney of Omani sheep

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of incorporating raw or processed Meskit pods on histopathology of kidney and liver of sheep. Twenty-four Omani sheep were fed one of four diets: Rhodes grass hay (RGH) plus commercial concentrate (CC); RGH plus raw Meskit pods based diet (RMP); RGH plus roasted Meskit pods based diet (ROMP); RGH plus soaked Meskit pods based diet (SMP) for 84 days. Histological and serum biochemical analyses were used to assess sheep health. Animals were slaughtered and kidney and liver tissue samples were collected. The microscopic results showed that, incorporating raw, roasted or soaked pods to level of 50% of formulated rations resulted in n o histological changes in kidney and liver tissues and most serum biochemical values were similar among the treatments. In general, feeding formulated rations based on raw or processed Meskit pods did not cause histological changes in kidneys or livers of Omani sheep even at high intake

Antibacterial activity of raw and processed meskit (prosopis juliflora) pods' extracts

The methanolic crude extracts of raw and processed Prosopis juliflora pods were assessed for their antibacterial activity using well-diffusion method on Escherichia coli, Kelbsiella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., and Bacillus sp. Tests showed that raw pods' extract has higher zone of inhibition compared with soaked and roasted pods' extracts with diameter ranged between 13 and 20 mm against all tested bacteria except for Klebsiella spp. There was with more inhibition of Gram-positives than Gram-negatives. However, roasted pods extract inhibited Streptococcus spp and Bacillus only with an inhibition zone of 10 and 6 mm, respectively. Dilution experiments showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of raw pods' extract was as follows; S. aureus (250 mg/ml), Streptococcus spp. (62.5 mg/ml) Bacillus spp. (125 mg/ml) and E-coli (125 mg/ml). Results indicated that the MIC of 62.5 mg/ml of raw pods' extract is equivalent to effects of Gentamicin (30 mg) and Kanamycin (30 mg) against Streptococcus spp. It was concluded that the raw and soaked P. juliflora pods extracts could be a potential source for antibacterial agents. However, roasting of Prosopis julilfora pods extremely reduced the strength of antibacterial activity

Detection and characterization of carbapenem resistant Gram-negative bacilli isolates recovered from hospitalized patients at Soba University Hospital, Sudan

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a complex threat to global health security and universal health coverage. Recently, nosocomial infections with carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) is increasing worldwide. We report the molecular characterization and detection of genes associated with carbapenemase producing Gram negative bacteria isolated from hospitalized patients at Soba University Hospital (SUH) in Khartoum State, Sudan. RESULTS: Between October 2016 and February 2017, a total of 206 GNB clinical specimens were collected from hospitalized patients in SUH. Of 206 carbapenem resistance isolates, 171 (83 %) were confirmed as phenotypically resistant and 121 (58.7 %) isolates harboured one or more carbapenemase genes. New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) types were the most predominant genes, blaNDM 107(52 %), followed by blaIMP 7 (3.4 %), blaOXA-48 5(2.4 %) and blaVIM 2 (0.9 %). Co-resistance genes with NDM producing GNB were detected in 87 (81.3 %) of all blaNDM producing isolates. NDM-1 was the most frequent subtype observed in 75 (70 %) blaNDM producing isolates. The highest percentage of resistance was recorded in ampicillin (98 %), cephalexin (93.5 %) amoxicillin clavulanic acid (90 %), cefotaxime (89.7 %), ceftriaxone (88.4 %), ceftazidime (84.2 %), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (78.4 %) and nitrofurantoin (75.2 %), aztreonam (66 %) and temocillin (64 %). A close correlation between phenotypic and carbapenemase genes detection in all GNB was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of carbapenemase producing bacilli was found to be high in SUH. NDM was found to be the most prevalent carbapenemase gene among clinical isolates. Close surveillance across all hospitals in Sudan is required. The relative distribution of carbapenemase genes among GNB in nosocomial infections in Africa needs to be defined

Frequency of Methicillin Resistance among Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates in Khartoum State, Sudan

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have emerged as an important cause of nosocomial and community-acquired infections ranging from mild to severe life-threatening infections. Therefore, a reliable detection of such strains is required for effective treatment. Objectives: To determine the frequency and the antibiogram of MRSA among different clinical isolates. Study Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study. Materials and Methods: Standard bacteriological methods, disk diffusion and PCRwere performed to determine the frequency of MRSA among different clinical isolates. Results: The overall results showed 96/210 (45.7%) of isolates were MRSA mostly recovered from wounds and blood stream. High percentage was detected in hospitalassociated (HA) strains (64.2%) rather than community (CA) (37.1%) (P-value < 0.001). From the generated Antibiogram, Co-trimoxazole was the most active (80.2%), while Penicillin was the least one (6.2%). Conclusion: As MRSA strains were mostly isolated from Hospitals, clinicians should beaware of such burden strains. Local frequency investigation of MRSA is recommended for perfect diagnosis and treatment

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