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The study was carried out to search for nematophagous fungi in some of Gezira, Sudan soil and to know how nematodes can be attacked by fungi. Samples were collected from soil planted with banana and lemon crops randomly and grown on suitable media (Corn Meal Agar) for growth of the fungi and nematodes. Using digital microscope many ways of trapping were recorded such as nematode captured by adhesive net, nematode captured by adhesive knob and the spores of the fungus were seen inside the dead body of the nematode. The samples labeled, and kept in laboratory for further study in the glass house. The activity of the nematophagous fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora was enhanced and it was noticed how the fungus attacked some nematodes, one of them was the nematode Radophilus similis. This nematode infects banana trees (Musa sp.) and reduces its yield. It was noticed that, the nematode was captured by adhesive knops and after that it struggled until died. The fungus A. oligospora penetrated the nematode cuticle and consumed all the body contents of the nematode. Also, the same fungus was seen capturing the nematode Xiphenema spp. by adhesive net and held them at least at two points. Different concentrations of the fungus A. oligospora inoculum significantly increased the number of lemon plant leaves, stem length, root length and also increased the fresh and dry root weights throughout two seasons when it was added by certain numbers of the nematode Xiphenema spp. to the soil compared to the untreated control (soil free from the fungus under test). Also, different concentrations of the fungus resulted in excellent vegetative growth of banana plants when it was added to the soil with certain number of the nematode R. similis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Volume overload is considered as an important clinical problem in end stage renal disease patients. It is associated with morbid situations such as pulmonary hypertension and lung congestion. Aim of the Work: to assess the effect of increased the patient weight between haemodialysis sessions that is known as interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) on pulmonary hypertension using Echocardiography (Echo) and lung congestion using lung ultrasound (LUS) in two groups: First group with IDWG < 3.5% of their dry weight while Second group with IDWG > 3.5% of their dry weight, compare between the two groups and to detect statistically the effects of IDWG & ultrafiltration on PAP and lung congestion. Patients and Methods: This observational cross sectional study was conducted at on 60 patients who have end stage kidney disease &are currently on haemodialysis at Nasser Institute Hospital: 30 patients with an IDWG < 3.5% and 30 patients with an IDWG > 3.5% of their dry weight. Pulmonary artery pressure was measured by echo and patients classified according to PAP into mild, moderate and severe pulmonary hypertension. Lung congestion in all patients was measured by lung ultrasound and patients classified into minimal, mild, moderate and severe lung congestion. Results: Our study showed that pulmonary hypertension prevalence was 30% while lung congestion was 100%. pulmonary hypertension pathophysiology includes acute and chronic processes and HD therapy alone is not effective in complete treatment of pulmonary hypertension and require medical treatment. Patients with increased IDWG > 3.5% (group 2) had pre HD higher PAP than those with IDWG < 3.5% (group 1) and patients with IDWG > 3.5% had more change in their PAP post HD session than those with IDWG < 3.5% but no significant difference between the change after the HD session in both groups. HD duration is an important factor in PH development over years. There is a significant relation anemia and hypercalcemia with PH. Patients with more increased IDWG > 3.5% (group 2) had higher pulmonary congestion than those with IDWG < 3.5% (group 1) and patients with IDWG < 3.5% had more change in their lung congestion level after the HD session than those with IDWG > 3.5% but no statistical significance between the change in both groups. There was a significant relation between HD therapy duration with pulmonary congestion measured prior to the session.Conclusion: on the short term increased IDWG% affect lung congestion more than pulmonary hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3-Cyano-6-(2-thienyl)-4-trifluoromethylpyridine-2(1 H )-one ( 1 ) and its thiono analog 2 were prepared by the reaction of (2-thenoyl)- ω , ω , ω -trifluoroacetone with cyanoacetamide or cyanothioacetamide, respectively. Interaction of compound 1 with ethyl chloroacetate or chloroacetamide led to the regioselective formation of O -alkylated pyridines 3 and 10 . The latter compounds underwent some successive reactions to furnish the promising furopyridines ( 4 and 7 – 9 ) and pyrazolopyridines ( 12 – 15) . The reaction of 2 with chloroacetamides or chloroacetonitrile furnished 2-functionalized 3-amino-6-(2-thienyl)-4-trifluoromethyl-thieno[2,3- b ]pyridines ( 16a , b ) which were used as key intermediates in the synthesis of the title thienopyridines. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established on the basis of their elemental and spectral (IR, 1 H NMR and mass) analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among cancers of the female genital tract, with poor outcomes despite chemotherapy. There was a persistent socioeconomic gradient in 1-year survival in England and Wales for more than 3 decades (1971-2001). Inequalities in 5-year survival persisted for more than 20 years but have been smaller for women diagnosed around 2000. We explored one possible explanation.Methods:We analysed data on 1406 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 1991-1998 and recruited to one of two randomised clinical trials. In the second International Collaborative Ovarian Neoplasm (ICON2) trial, women diagnosed between 1991 and 1996 were randomised to receive either the three-drug combination cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and cisplatin (CAP) or single-agent carboplatin given at optimal dose. In the ICON3 trial, women diagnosed during 1995-1998 were randomised to receive either the same treatments as ICON2, or paclitaxel plus carboplatin.Relative survival at 1, 5 and 10 years was estimated for women in five categories of socioeconomic deprivation. The excess hazard of death over and above background mortality was estimated by fitting multivariable regression models with Poisson error structure and a dedicated link function in a generalised linear model framework, adjusting for the duration of follow-up and the confounding effects of age, Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and calendar period.Results:Unlike women with ovarian cancer in the general population, no statistically significant socioeconomic gradient was seen for women with ovarian cancer treated in the two randomised controlled trials. The deprivation gap in 1-year relative survival in the general population was statistically significant at −6.7% (95% CI (−8.1, −5.3)), compared with −3.6% (95% CI (−10.4, +3.2)) in the trial population.Conclusions:Although ovarian cancer survival is significantly lower among poor women than rich women in England and Wales, there was no evidence of an association between socioeconomic deprivation and survival among women with ovarian cancer who were treated and followed up consistently in two well-conducted randomised controlled trials. We conclude that the persistent socioeconomic gradient in survival among women with ovarian cancer, at least for 1-year survival, may be due to differences in access to treatment and standards of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Palm Oil Clinker (POC) added as a stabilizer for improving the strength of peat. Cement and POC are added into peat up to 50% of the maximum dry unit weight. Treated peat achieved higher dry unit weight, almost 2.5 times as compared to untreated peat. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of treated peat is also investigated for soaked and unsoaked conditions. The results show that curing time improved the unconfined compressive strength of treated sample and increased by a factor of 20 and 11 for unsoaked and soaked conditions after 28 days of curing, respectively. The treated samples added with POC can be related to an increase in unconfined compressive strength for long time curing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess self-reported chewing ability among a sample of Sudanese adults and to identify factors associated with impaired oral function. A total of 1,888 adults (≥16 years old) attending outpatient clinics in Khartoum State were included. Subjective chewing ability was assessed by interviewing participants on chewing complaints and perceived difficulty of chewing 15 common Sudanese foods. Pearson and multivariate analyses were used to examine relationships between chewing ability and characteristics obtained from interviews and clinical examination. Chewing complaints were reported by 33.5% of subjects; 15.2-33.4% had perceived difficulty of chewing hard foods, whereas only 1.5-6.9% had difficulty eating soft foods. The likelihood of chewing complaints was higher in people with dry mouth, <20 teeth, tooth decay, poor self-rated oral health, perceived difficulty of chewing, and higher oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) scores. Individuals with <20 teeth, poor self-rated general health, and higher OHRQoL scores were all more likely to have perceived difficulty of chewing certain foods. Impaired chewing ability was rather highly prevalent among Sudanese adults. Addressing factors such as dry mouth and tooth loss/decay, which have been identified to be associated with impaired oral function, might help to decrease the risk of omission of essential foods from the diet and improve OHRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Surgical site infections account for 14%-25% of all nosocomial infections. The main aims of this study were to audit the use of prophylactic antibiotic, to quantify the rate of post-operative wound infection, and to identify risk factors for its occurrence in general surgery. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the General Surgery Department in Khartoum Teaching Hospital– Sudan. All Adult patients (age >18 years) admitted during March 1st to 31st October 2010 were recruited. Multivariable logistic analysis was done to identify wound infection risk factors. Prescriptions were audited against predetermined criteria. Results: A total of 540 patients were recruited; (females73.7% of total ). The performed surgical procedures were 547. The rate of wound infection was 10.9%. Multivariable logistic analysis showed that; ASA score > 3; (p= <0.001), wound class (p= 0.001), and laparoscopic surgical technique; (p= 0.002) were significantly associated with prevalence of wound infection. Surgical prophylaxis was unnecessarily given to 311 (97.5%) of 319 patients for whom it was not recommended. Prophylaxis was recommended for 221 patients; of them 218 (98.6 %) were given preoperative dose in the operating rooms. Evaluation of prescriptions for those patients showed that; spectrum of antibiotic was adequate for 160 (73.4%) patients, 143 (65.6%) were given accurate doses, only 4 (1.8%) had the first preoperative dose/s in proper time window, and for 186 (85.3%) of them prophylaxis was extended post-operatively. Only 36 (6.7%) prescriptions were found to be complying with the stated criteria. Conclusion: The rate of wound infection was high and prophylactic antibiotics were irrationally used. Multiple interventions are needed to correct the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Surveillance of wound infections has been shown to be a powerful preventive tool, and feedback to the clinical staff reduces wound infection rates. The main objectives of this study were to identify the applicability of telephone calls as a method of post-discharge wound infection surveillance, and to identify patients and procedures characteristics associated with loss for follow-up after hospital discharge. Materials and methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted in Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. Patients, aged >18 years admitted for elective clean and clean-contaminated surgery during March 1st to 31st October 2010 were recruited. 1-month surveillance of wound infections was conducted with telephone interviews. Results: Overall 3656 patients were operated on. Of them 1769 (48.4%) were eligible {mean age 37.8+14 years; females, n =1472 (83.3%)}. The performed surgical interventions were 1814. Of these 1277 (70.4%) were clean-contaminated and 537 (29.6%) were clean. Patients who successfully completed the follow-up were 1387 (78.4%), while 368 (20.8%) were lost, and 14 (0.8%) died. The percentage of male patients (85.3%) who successfully completed the follow-up was significantly higher than females (77.8%); (P =0.002). Wound infection was detected in 15 (0.8%) cases during hospital stay and 110 (6.2%) others after hospital discharge. Conclusions: The majority of wound infections in the current study appeared in post-discharge period; this emphasis the need for establishment of surveillance program in the hospital. Surveillance of wound infections using telephone calls is applicable in this setting and can be used as an alternative method to clinic-based diagnosis of wound infections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present investigation was conducted in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 wheat growing seasons at Sakha Agric. Res. Station, Egypt. The analysis of gene effects used the means of six populations: P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1, and BC2; of the three bread wheat crosses to estimate genetic parameters. These crosses were Giza 168 x Sids 13, Gemmeiza 9 × Misr 2 and Sids 12 × Misr 2 generated from five diverse parents. Means of the six generations were recorded for seven characters. i.e. number of days to heading, days to physiological maturity, plant height. number of spikes per plant. number of kernels per spike, 100-kernel weight and grain yield per plant. Analyzed data revealed that there were variations among parental genotypes for all studied characters in all crosses except for number of kernels per spike in the first cross. days to physiological maturity and plant height in the second cross and grain yield per plant in the third cross. The genetic variance among F2 plants was significant for all studied characters in the three crosses. Generation mean analysis using scaling test (A, B and C) indicated the presence of digenic epistasis for all studied characters in the three crosses except for kernel weight in the second cross. The additive, dominance and epistatic gene effects were important in controlling the inheritance of number of kernels per spike in the first cross, days to heading in the second cross and kernel weight in the third cross. Heterosis compared to mid-parent and better parent were found to be significantly positive for plant height in the first two crosses. number of spikes per plant in the second cross and grain yield per plant in the third one. The inbreeding depressions were highly significant and positive for all studied characters in the three crosses except for days to heading in the first cross. Heritability estimates in broad and narrow senses were generally moderate to high for most studied characters in the three crosses. Meanwhile, the values of heritability in narrow sense were low for number of kernels per spike, kernel weight and grain yield per plant in the cross Giza 168 x Sids 13. The expected genetic advance from selection estimates in the F2 were low for number of kernels per spike and kernel weight in the first cross. days to heading in the second cross and days to physiological maturity in the third one. Variance component estimates revealed that additive genetic variance (σ²D) was larger than dominance variance (σ²H) for all characters in most crosses. The average degree of dominance as indicated by (H1/D)1/2 was less than unity for days to heading, plant height and grain yield per plant in the second cross as well as for kernel weight in the third one. Also, it was less than unity for days to physiological maturity in the first and third crosses, number of kernels per spike in the last two crosses and number of spikes per plant in the three crosses indicating the presence of partial dominance. On the contrary, the same parameter was more than unity for plant height, number of kernels per spike. kernel weight and grain yield per plant in the first cross as well as grain yield in the third cross indicating the presence of over- dominance. Based on these results, the second cross: Geinmeiza 9 x Misr 2 could be selected for obtaining plants having high grain yield. Moreover, the first cross: Giza 168 Sids 13 is promising for selecting early mature plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterotaxy is defined as an abnormality where the internal thoracoabdominal organs show abnormal arrangements across the left-right axis of the body. It might affect the stomach alone, i.e. dextrogastria. This anomaly can be combination of dextrogastria with functional asplenia (asplenic or hyposplenic) and other visceral heterotaxy with possible malrotation. Heterotaxy is rare condition and its association with intestinal atresia is almost very rarely reported in the literature. Presented is a case of heterotaxy with dextrogastria, multiple small splenules and associated with Type 2 jejunal atresia with brief review of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of numerical analysis in investigation of piled embankment over soft soil has been developed since 1990. Several investigators have extended the numerical analysis to model ground improvement using soil-column to support embankment or structures. This paper presents a numerical analysis of the Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA) column-treated peat and compared with field static-loading test results. Back analysis was performed to determine the material parameters and soil stiffness surrounding soil & soil-column. Two geometrical models were used in this analysis: (a) block (Model A), and (b) column group (Model B). This situation was analyzed using commercially available finite element package PLAXIS 2D ver. 8.2. It is found that both models are reliable to simulate the field static-loading test for column-treated peat. Model B shows a higher stability to failure if compared to Model A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to develop a Sudanese-Arabic version of the English-language Oral Health Impact Profile-I4 (OHIP-14), assess the psychometric properties and performance of this new instrument, and then use it to investigate the impacts of selected oral disorders on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Sudanese adolescents and adults (age, ≤ 16 years; 781 males and 1107 females) attending outpatient clinics in Khartoum State were enrolled. The OHIP-14 was adapted, and the validity and reliability of the Sudanese-Arabic version of the questionnaire (OHIP-14s-ar) were assessed. The OHIP-14s-ar was then used to measure OHRQoL. Pearson correlation coefficients and multivariate analysis were used to examine relationships between OHRQoL and characteristics ascertained by inter-views and clinical examinations. The OHIP-14s-ar had suitable construct validity, reliability, and internal consistency (i.e., Cronbach a). More than half of the participants reported that oral disorders affected quality of life; psychological discomfort and physical pain were the most frequently reported oral health impacts. Our results suggest that being female, tooth decay, systemic illness, and dry mouth worsen OHRQoL. The oral disorder with the greatest impact was dental caries, and tooth condition seemed to be more important than absence of teeth. The OHIP-14s-ar yielded convincing psychometric data, and its performance makes it a suitable measure for future cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in Sudan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]