University Of Khartoum Research Articles

AB175. SOH22ABS205. Should we stop anatomy lectures?—opinions of undergrad students and faculty

Background: Anatomy is considered the dictionary medical students would carry throughout their medical career. However, data on teaching methods of anatomy in Sudan is deficient, but there is a hidden consensus that keeps traditional methods such as didactic lectures taking a tremendous part of the student’s time up to these days in the University of Khartoum (U of K); where this study was conducted.

Prevalence of migraine headaches and their impact on the academic performance of Sudanese medical students using ID-Migraine test as a screening tool: A cross-sectional study.

BackgroundMigraine—and episodic headache—is one of the most common types of primary headache. Migraine is considered a serious health problem that affects the quality of life. During university life, students often report increased levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and irregular sleep, all of which are associated with migraines. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of migraine headaches among medical campus students at the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Based on available data, migraine is on the rise in both general populations as well as in university students.MethodsThis is a cross‐sectional study. The study population was composed of students registered to the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy at Khartoum University in the academic years of 2020–2021. Out of these, 318 of them accepted to participate. Participants who had two or more headaches in the last 3 months formed the headache group. Afterwards, two preliminary questions were applied to the headache group and participants with at least one affirmative response were asked to perform the validated ID‐Migraine™ test.ResultsThe mean age of 318 students participating in the study was 19.23 ± 1.84 (17–39 years), with adolescents:adult ratio being 2.5:1. A total of 1613 students (43.7%) had at least two headaches in the last 3 months. Migraine‐type headache was detected in 266 subjects (7.2%) based on the ID‐Migraine™ test. Of the migraine group, 72 were male (27.1%) and 194 were female (72.9%). There was no significant difference in migraine prevalence between adolescent and adult age groups.ConclusionsWith prevalence similar to adults, primary care physicians should be aware of the probability of migraine headaches in university students in order to maintain a successful school performance.

259 Effect of Telegram Videos on Anatomy Education Among 2nd Year Medical Students, University of Khartoum, 2021

AimCOVID-19 had major effect on the health and medical education. In order to oblige with the social distancing and quarantine, universities shifted to online learning. This study aimed to assess the effect of online education on anatomy DR (dissection room) teaching by the use of telegram software.MethodThis was a cross-sectional, prospective interventional study, which was carried out among 2nd year medical students in University of Khartoum. Students undertook initial tests on the heart and anterior abdominal wall modules. Telegram videos, prepared by the author, on the anatomy of the heart and the anterior abdominal wall were distributed to students. Students took a second test after watching the videos. A total number of 41 students attended heart sessions and 40 students attended the anterior abdominal wall sessions were included.ResultsThe pre-test mean score for the heart and abdomen modules were 4.56 ± 2.335 and 6.15 ± 2.94, respectively. The post-tests means were 9.98 ± 2.877 and 8.95 ± 3.14, respectively. 90% and 75% of the students were satisfied with these videos, respectively.ConclusionsThis study revealed that Telegram videos as a method of online teaching had a positive effect on the students' performance, which was evidenced by the significant improvement in student's scores after watching the videos. Additionally, most of the students were satisfied with the videos and give positive feedback.

First Report of Xanthomonas euvesicatoria Causing Bacterial Spot Disease in Tomato in Blue Nile State, Sudan

Bacterial spot caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria is considered to be a major constraint of tomato production all over the world in particular warmer and humid parts.A disease disorder was reported in autumn season 2015within the Blue Nile State in Sudanaffecting all aerial parts of tomato plant. Symptomatic tomato leaves were collected and sent toPlant Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum. An investigation on whether a phytopathogen was associated with symptoms of bacterial spots damage on tomato was conducted.The pathogen wasisolated and characterized morphologically, biochemically and at molecular level. The bacterium wasidentified as Xanthomonaseuvesicatoria and confirmed by PCR and sequence analysis of the 16S RNA gene (GenBankAccession Nos MH047248, MH051263 and MG686236).The disease incidence was remarkably high in ALrosserisand Aldamazein which recorded 49.27 and 52.17%, respectively, while the disease severity was 28.28 and 30.32%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Xanthomonaseuvesicatoria causing bacterial spot disease in tomato in Sudan.

Effect of Natural Waxes on Quality and Shelf Life of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Fruits

The effect of three natural waxes (bee, carnauba and jojoba) on quality and shelf-life of ‘Ergon’ tomato cultivar was evaluated.Tomato fruits were harvested at the mature-green stage from a greenhouse belonging to the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology. Fruits were selected for uniformity of size, color and freedom from blemishes and defects, and transported in field boxes to the laboratory. The fruits were washed, treated with 0.1 % sodiumhypochlorite (Clorox, 5 %) as a disinfectant and air dried. The waxes were dissolved in olive oil (1:1) and applied by brushing over the surface of the fruits in a thin layer. The treatments were: bee wax, carnauba wax, jojoba wax and untreated (control).They were arranged in a completely randomized design with four replications. The treated and untreated fruitswere stored in carton boxes for 30 days at 18±1 ˚C and 80- 85 % relative humidity in a cold room at the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum. Analysis of variance at significancelevel of P ≤ 0.05 was performed on the data using SBS (version 23) statistic. The results showed that the natural waxes significantly reduced losses, maintained quality and extended shelf-life of tomato fruits. The wax treatments significantly delayed fruit ripening (6, 4 and 2 days), reduced water loss (34.1, 19.4 and 9.7 %), decreased peel color (40, 20and 12 %), fruit softening (87.5, 45.0 and 27.5 %), and total soluble solids accumulation (23.2, 13.4 and 7.2 %), in fruits treated with jojoba wax, carnauba wax and bee wax, respectively, compared with un-waxed (control) fruits. Jojoba wax was most effective, followed by carnauba wax and the least was the bee wax. It is recommended that natural waxes,especially jojoba and carnauba waxes, can effectively be used to delay fruit ripening, reduce weight loss, maintain quality and extend shelf-life of tomato fruits.

Obituary of Prof AbuBakr A.Wahab

It is with great sadness and deep sorrow that the Editorial Board of the “Journal of Building and Roads Research” mourns one of its active and well respected members, the late Professor AbuBakr A. Wahab M. Salih, Professor of Civil Engineering, University ofKhartoum who passed away on Friday 25th September 2020, leaving behind him a space that can hardly be filled.

Policy for Distance Learning in Education in Higher Education Institutions: Experiences from Sudan

The introduction of distance learning in education in universities has transferred the competition between them to a higher, global level also. However, Sudan is one of the African countries, suffering from many challenges that are related to technology such as poor network, lack of awareness, lack of commitment of institutions and instructors, and lack of network coverage to the remote areas. Therefore, this paper aimed to review the initiative of distance education in some Sudanese universities. In doing so, this paper followed a qualitative research approach to the type of case study research. The information for this study was derived from articles, books, online sources, reports, and documents. The paper reviewed distance education policy in some Sudanese Universities Such as the Open University of Sudan, University of Khartoum, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Al-Neelain University, and Al-Zaeem Al-Azhari University. It was normal that universities in Sudan needed to introduce their teachers and students to such distance education programs to achieve more excellence in teaching and learning. The paper suggests college officials should adopt policies to implement distance education in Sudanese universities.

Five decades lead in biomedical research: University of Khartoum tops Sudanese universities in PubMed articles

Introduction: University of Khartoum (U of K) is the largest and oldest university in Sudan (1). The recent rankings of international and local universities made by Webometrics Ranking of world Universities initiative in 2017 have placed University of Khartoum as number one University in Sudan and 1970 in rank Worldwide. This ranking system is based mainly on research activity and publications. Using PubMed we obtained data on all PubMed-indexed articles (from 1966 to 2016) affiliated to the four oldest and most established Sudanese universities: University of Khartoum, University of Gezira, Omdurman Islamic University, and Al-Neelain University. Methods: Using R Statistical environment, we compiled a unified dataset from multiple resources including PubMed data and impact factor data. This unified dataset was then used to calculate multiple article and authorship metrics including total number of articles and annual averages. We also applied text mining techniques to from indexed abstracts in order to explore the prevailing trends and research focus of some the most prolific authors and to visualize this trends though word clouds. Results: Since the earliest date of PubMed indexing in 1966, the University of Khartoum is by far the most affiliated Sudanese university in PubMed. Approaching 300 articles in 2016, the number of PubMed indexed articles has shown a promising rising trend over the past decade. Our results clearly indicate lead of University of Khartoum in published biomedical research. This trend is promising and shows the attention shift towards research activities among the major Sudanese universities in general and University of Khartoum in particular.

Career Preference and Factors Influencing Career Choice among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students at University of Khartoum, Sudan.

The pharmacy profession has expanded and adapted to changes in community needs. Although career planning and understanding the determinants of career choice are essential, there remains a lack of studies exploring factors influencing future career plans. This study was conducted to identify career preferences and factors influencing future career choices among undergraduate pharmacy students. A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from randomly selected participants. Out of 220 respondents, 85.9% were females. The average age of the respondents was 21.7 ± 1.5 years. Clinical pharmacy was selected as the most preferred future career domain (30%), followed by academia and research (12%), the pharmaceutical industry (11%), and community pharmacy (10.5). Approximately 20% of participants reported a preference for moving abroad for work. Regarding factors influencing future career domain choice, participants ranked training in the workplace (80%) and curriculum content (70%) as the top faculty-related factors, while interaction with practicing pharmacists (71.8%) and salary (78%) were the major personal-related and job-related factors. This study emphasized the importance of understanding job preferences and the factors influencing career choice, and could be useful in ensuring a future balance between professional domains and meeting society’s evolving expectations.

Perceived Academic Stress, Causes, and Coping Strategies Among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BackgroundAcademic stress is a common problem among medical students, and the COVID-19 health crisis lockdown further worsened it. High academic stress has a negative impact on students learning and overall performance.ObjectiveTo assess perceived academic stress, causes, and coping strategies among undergraduate pharmacy students during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Khartoum. Data were collected from randomly selected participants using three validated self-administered questionnaires; perceived stress scale, study habits inventory, and mental health inventory. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, and descriptive statistics and chi-square were employed.ResultsThe response rate in our study was 99.6% (251/252). About 87% of the participants were females. The majority of participants (92%) experience academic stress, with a mean score (24.99 ± 5.159), the level of academic stress ranging from low (4.3%), moderate (73.2%), to high (22.5%). Approximately 80% of the percipients reported academic stress during all exam times with a mean score (25.33 ± 4.976). The level of academic stress was significantly associated with participants’ gender (P-value: 0.042), and living conditions (P-value: 0.001). The most common factors that were significantly associated with academic stress were difficulty in remembering all that is studied (66.7%, P=0.006) and worrying about the exams (54.1%, P=0.011). Moreover, the most frequent strategies used to cope with academic stress were praying (84.4%) and maintaining some control over the situation (61.9%).ConclusionThe study revealed a high prevalence of academic stress among percipients. Academic counseling, monitoring of mental status, and implementation of stress reduction programs are highly recommended.

Perkembangan Pendidikan Islam di Afrika Utara: Pendidikan Islam di Sudan

Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for all children aged 6 to 13 years. Education starts with basic education for eight years, then secondary education for three years. The education level was changed to 6+3+3 format in 1990. The language of instruction used at all levels is Arabic. School locations are concentrated in a number of urban areas, a number of schools in the South and West have been damaged or even destroyed by the conflict. In the field of formal education, Sudan has many well-known universities that are tens or even hundreds of years old. Among these universities are Khartoum University, Omdurman Islamic University, El-Nilein University, Khartoum International Institute of Arabic, Al Quran Al Karim University and the youngest is the International University of Africa. The education system in Sudan starts with Primary School, then Secondary School. The level above it is Vocational/Technical Education and Training or University/College Education. In addition, there are Preservice Teacher Training and In Service Teacher Training. Non-formal education, in Sudan there are many scientific assemblies that use the talaqqi system through masyakhs who are spread almost all over Sudan.

The Influence of Structures Syllabus in Architectural Education in the Integration between Architects and Structural Engineers

The integration level between architects and structural engineers in practice is perceived as very low in terms of integration to enrich the architectural value. This research aims at investigating the role of structures syllabus design and teaching methods on the integration between architects and structural engineers in both education and practice.A combination of qualitative research methods is used to investigate this issue, including questionnaires and structured interviews conducted at the Faculty of the Architecture (FoA), University of Khartoum (U of K), as a case study. The survey questions involved a combination of close-ended questions; multi-choice and ranking questions to be answered in an ordinalscale in a form of a five-point Likert-scale. The research findings suggest that the teaching methods of structures in architectural education contribute to the disintegration and lack of collaboration between architects and structural engineers in both education and practice. The study suggests that implementing architectural-based approaches in teaching structures may lead to the improved integration between architects and structural engineers.

Awareness and attitude of first-year medical students toward epilepsy in University of Khartoum, Sudan.

PurposeVery little is known about the knowledge and attitude of students about epilepsy at Sudanese universities. Therefore, we aimed to assess knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students toward epilepsy.MethodsA 35‐items standardized questionnaire was self‐administered to 320 students between December 2020 and February 2021 with a recorded response rate of 61.8%. Google form was used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using R software.ResultsOverall, our findings showed a negative trend in the awareness and attitude towards epilepsy. While the majority of students (84.8%) had read or heard about epilepsy, only 43.9% of them had seen someone with epilepsy. Epilepsy was considered contagious and psychological by 1.7% and 56%, respectively. About 62.2% of students believed head / birth trauma is a cause of epilepsy. On the other hand, 15.7 % and 5.1 % of students thought evil eye and divine retribution are also causes of epilepsy, respectively. The latter beliefs were more uniform among participants from rural background (p < .05). Regarding attitude, 19.7% of students considered it inappropriate for a patient with epilepsy to have a child. This attitude correlates with the mother's education as the percentage was higher for students whose mothers had a lower education (pre‐college education) (p < .05). The majority of students were aware that certain people with epilepsy need long‐term drug treatment; this belief was more uniform among females than in males (p < .05). The vast majority of students (93.9%) thought that a child with epilepsy could succeed in a normal class. Compared to the corresponding group, this belief was found more common in students whose mothers had a higher education (university level and above) (p < .05).ConclusionThis study concludes that Sudanese undergraduate students' understanding of epilepsy was minimal, necessitating a well‐directed educational campaign to develop a well‐informed and tolerant society.

Distractor analysis of multiple choice questions: A descriptive study of physiology examinations at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum

Background: Distractor analysis is an important component of item analysis. It helps in the design and construction of items with functional effective distractors which are valid for future use and developmentof proper question banks.Objectives: This study aimed at investigating distractors’ functionality of physiology multiple choicequestion (MCQ) items at the Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum University using post- examination item analysis data.&#x0D; Methods: Analyzing test statistics reports produced by Remark-Software, the frequency distribution of non-functioning (NFD) or non-effective distractors (NED) on ten summative physiology MCQ exams administered to undergraduate medical students in the period from September 2015 to September 2016 was assessed. Item analysis reports provided detailed options analyses in the form of response frequency and discrimination power of each option. Each exam paper consisted of 60-80 (five-option) items and the number of the examinees ranged from 332 to 359. A total of 654 items were reviewed, including 2580 distractors. NFD/NED were defined as distractors with either response frequency&lt;5% of the examinees or non-negative discrimination coefficient (rpbis) criteria. Furthermore, the number of NFD/NED per item were computed to measure distractor efficiency (DE %) of an item as follows; 0 NED = 100 % DE, 1 NED = 75%DE, 2 NED = 50% DE, 3 NED = 25% DE, 4 NED = 0% DE.&#x0D; Results: Although less than one-third (31%) of total number of distractors were non-functioning because they were chosen by less than 5% of examinees, only 4 (0.15%) distractors had a choice frequency ofzero. In addition, 9.38% of total number of distractors was non-functioning because they had non-negative discrimination correlation coefficient. Defining functioning distractors using response frequency or discrimination ability criterion, the majority (61%) of our distractors were functioning effectively. The mean DE was 59.46±28.376% and the proportion of functional distractors ranged from 40.27% - 75% in the ten exams. Our study proportions of items with 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, 0% DE were: 32.7%, 31.3%, 20.9%, 9.9% &amp; 5.1% respectively based on response frequency criterion alone, compared to: 8.2%, 12.3%, 28.7%, 35.2% &amp; 15.7% respectively when using any of the two criterion for NED definition.&#x0D; Conclusion: The findings that the majority of our distractors were functioning and the high proportions of our items that have high distractor efficiency are explained by the fact that our expert staff memberscarefully reviewed distractors to ensure unambiguity of the correct answers and generated plausible effective distractors.

Reliability of physiology MCQs’ examinations at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum

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Effect of nitrogen fertilization on growth, yield and ethanol production of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L. Moench)

Field trials were carried out to test the effect of nitrogen fertilization on the growth, stalks and juice yield, sugar content and ethanol production of sweet sorghum. The experiments were carried out on winter 2013 in the Domonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat and Experimental Farm of the Soba Research Station for Reclamation of Saline and Sodic soils. The treatments comprised the addition of nitrogen fertilizer (urea) at three levels (0, 43 and 86 Kg N ha-1) and two sweet sorghum genotypes (Baladi and RSSS.11), arranged in randomized complete block design replicated 4 times. Results indicated that there were significant (P ≥ 0.05) differences between genotypes in stem diameter at Soba location, stalk height and leaves area at Shambat location, number of green leaves per plant, stalk juice and ethanol yield in both locations. With the genotype RSSS.11 generally superior over genotype Baladi. Nitrogen fertilization increased significantly (P ≥ 0.05) number of green leaves per plant and leaves area at Shambat location and plant height and juice and ethanol yield in both locations. With the Soba location recorded the highest values over Shambat location and 86 kg N ha-1 recorded the highest ethanol yield (255.6l h-1).

Item difficulty &amp; item discrimination as quality indicators of physiology MCQ examinations at the Faculty of Medicine Khartoum University

Background:&#x0D; Item analysis is an essential tool used in the evaluation of the quality of MCQ examinations.&#x0D; Objectives:&#x0D; This study aimed at assessing the quality of items of physiology MCQ examinations at the&#x0D; Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum University, using post-examination item analysis.&#x0D; Methods:&#x0D; A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried-out on test statistics reports using Remark-&#x0D; software which provides analysis of students’ responses in the form of Excel file formats. Ten physiology&#x0D; MCQ exams held from September 2015 - September 2016 were included in the study. Each exam paper&#x0D; consisted of 60-80 (five-option) items. Item Difficulty index [DIF I] and Discrimination Index (DI) (using&#x0D; point biserial correlation coefficient/&#x0D; r&#x0D; pbis&#x0D; ) were measured as quality indicators.&#x0D; Results:&#x0D; The mean DIF I of 645 items was (56.01±19.97) &amp; the mean&#x0D; r&#x0D; pbis&#x0D; was (0.37±0.13). The majority&#x0D; of items (63.3%) were of acceptable difficulty; (25.5%) were easy &amp; (11.1%) were difficult. The highest&#x0D; proportion (43.5%) of items were excellent; followed by (30%) good; (16.6%) acceptable and (9.6%) poor&#x0D; discriminating items. There were only 5 negatively discriminating items that constituted 0.8% out of total&#x0D; items. The relationship between difficulty and discrimination indices was dome-shaped with maximal&#x0D; discrimination at acceptable difficulty level.&#x0D; Conclusion:&#x0D; Generation of high quality examinations with average difficulty and good discrimination&#x0D; power is the outcome of careful construction and meticulous review of exams’ items by our expert staff&#x0D; members. Maximizing exam discrimination is achieved by reducing the number of the very difficult and&#x0D; very easy items.

أثر تعلم المفاهيم العلمية الخطأ بكتاب فيزياء الصف الأول بالمرحلة الثانوية في السودان على التعلم اللاحق للطلاب

The scientific paper aimed to identify the Physics misconceptions in the first year book of the secondary school stage, and the extent of their effective to the students’ subsequent learning.The descriptive and the experimental methods were followed, that, with the book content analysis, and an application of pre and post tests, to discover the misconceptions effect to the subsequent learning. The sample were the fourth year Physics students, at the Faculty of Education – Khartoum university, which contains 24 students, chosen with an intention method. A pre test was conducted, then the corrigenda were done, and a post test was conducted. The statistical analysis program (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The scientific paper comes out to the following results:There are scientific misconceptions in the first year Physics book at the secondary instruction stage.The use of different methods of teaching, help in the correction of the Physics misconceptions, which students acquired.Students learning to the misconceptions, affect their subsequent learning.The percentage of misconceptions frequency to some Physics conceptions varied to the students with a large degree.The paper recommended that: the revision of Physics teacher rehabilitation and training system, and to follow the scientific methods in how toauthoring the Physics books at the secondary school stage, and specialists should participate in preparing the scientific syllabuses.

Obituary

Dr. El Tigani Mohamed Hassan Allam was born in 5.8.1939. Following his interest in Ecology and Entomology he joined the Zoology Department at University of Khartoum where he was rewarded his B.Sc. (Honours) in 1963 followed by M.Sc. (Zoology) in 1965. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of London in 1970.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) Bulb Crop Production Using Sets of Two Sudanese Cultivars

The objective of this research was to determine production requirement for onion bulb crop using sets as, rarely but of high potential, planting material. An experiment was carried out at the Demonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum for two consecutive growing seasons,(2010/11 and 2011/12). Treatments comprised two cultivars(Saggai and Kamlin), three set sizes (small 1-1.5 cm diameter; medium 1.6- 2.1 cm and large 2.2-2.7 cm) and three planting dates (15th of August, September and October). Treatments were arranged in a split split plot design with three replications, where cultivars were randomized in the main plots, set sizes in the sub-plots and planting dates in the sub-sub plots. Resultsindicated that increasing set size from small to large size significantly promoted plant growth. Medium set size resulted in significantly higher average bulb weight, total and marketable yields than small and large sets; however, bulb splitting and premature bolting (negative quality traits) were also high. So marketable yield represented a range of 40-46 %, 39-49 % and25-53 % of the total yields over the two years when medium, large and small were used respectively. Plant growth, average bulb weight, bulb diameter, total and marketable yields were significantly higher from sets planted inOctober and in September than in August; yet, bolting was also significantly higher. Early planting in August significantly increased bulb dry matter. Saggai cultivar had higher tendency for bolting and splitting than Kamlin when sets were used as planting material. Total and marketable yields were significantly higher from medium sets planted in October and September than in August. It is concluded that use of sets as planting material is as good as transplants, if not better, as it is more easy and adaptable to the continuously changing growing environment in terms of climate change and production cost.