5324 research outputs found
Sort by
Industrial pollution reduction practices and wastewater governance analysis
No full textjoint research project, BZU, IHE Delft, PPU, IUGpresentationNRO Ramallah, PADUCO2 Progra
Potential of biogas production from biomass and organic waste materials in the West Bank of Palestine
No full textThis book reviews different ways of energy generation from different resources like agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, and municipal sewage sludge, by producing biogas through anaerobic digestion system and converting it to heat or electricity, or even into cool energy.
The potential energy recovered from all these resources decreases the energy price and keeps the environment save from pollution, diseases, etc. The potential electricity generation from the anaerobically digestion of organic solid waste in Palestine is around 325 MWh/day which is enough to cover at least 15000 households. Also the potential energy recovery from cow and chicken manure is around 110542 MWh annually.
Applying such a project in Palestine needs between 12-15 years to recover its capital costs. Such a project will save environment, create new jobs for engineers and other skilled labours, and encourage the industries to expand & large their investments.This book reviews different ways of energy generation from different resources like agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, and municipal sewage sludge, by producing biogas through anaerobic digestion system and converting it to heat or electricity, or even into cool energy.
The potential energy recovered from all these resources decreases the energy price and keeps the environment save from pollution, diseases, etc. The potential electricity generation from the anaerobically digestion of organic solid waste in Palestine is around 325 MWh/day which is enough to cover at least 15000 households. Also the potential energy recovery from cow and chicken manure is around 110542 MWh annually.
Applying such a project in Palestine needs between 12-15 years to recover its capital costs. Such a project will save environment, create new jobs for engineers and other skilled labours, and encourage the industries to expand & large their investments
Harm perceptions of waterpipe tobacco smoking among university students in five Eastern Mediterranean Region countries : a cross-sectional study
Full text linkWaterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) continues to be very
common in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), partially because of cultural acceptance but also because of misconceptions of its harm.
This paper aimed to describe the beliefs towards waterpipe harm of
university students who smoked waterpipe in five EMR countries.
This study was conducted in 2016 across five EMR countries:
Egypt, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants were recruited from among university students in each country. Students’ characteristics, smoking behavior, flavor preference and knowledge of WTS harm were collected using an internet-based survey. Participants were included if they were ever waterpipe tobacco smokers and between 18 and 29 years of age.
Bivariate analyses assessed variations in student-perceived WTS harm across the countries. Linear regression analysis was used to assess WTS perceived harm differences between students in the different countries.
RESULTS : A total of 2 544 university students participated from the five countries. Among ever smoking students, 66% reported WTS in the past 30 days, with the highest proportions (40%) from Occupied
Palestinian Territories (OPT) and (41%) Jordan. Dual smoking of
waterpipe and cigarettes was highest among students from Egypt.
Most participants from the five countries had high level of perceived
harm related to WTS during pregnancy. Less than 50% of the students
believed that WTS could lead to the death of the smoker, can be harmful for non-smokers and have an addictive effect. Female students, those older than 22 years, and those who didn’t smoke waterpipe in the last 30 days significantly had a higher level of WTS perceived harm.
Participating students believed that cigarettes are more addictive and
contain more nicotine compared to waterpipe.
CONCLUSIONS : Misperceptions of waterpipe harm are common among university students in the five EMR countries. Immediate public health action is needed, including enforcement of waterpipe tobacco control regulations along with awareness campaigns
Complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ramallah and al-Bireh : the Palestinian diabetes complications and control study (PDCCS)
No full textBackground: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing pandemic that will lead, if not
managed and controlled, to frequent complications, poor quality of life, and high rates of
disability and death. Little is known about T2DM complications in Palestine. The aim of
this study is to estimate the prevalence of T2DM complications in Ramallah and al-Bireh
governorate of Palestine.
Methods: The study was conducted in eleven primary healthcare clinics offering services for
persons with T2DM. Macrovascular complications were assessed using the Diabetes complication
index. Microvascular complications were measured by physical examinations and
laboratory tests. Questionnaires, laboratory tests, and physical examinations were used to
assess socio-demographic characteristics, co-morbidities and other risk factors.
Results: 517 adult men and nonpregnant women participated in the study (166 men, 351
women). The response rate was 84%. Mean age and mean duration of diabetes were 58.1
and 9.4 years respectively. Prevalence of diagnosed microvascular and macrovascular complications
was 67.2% and 28.6% respectively. 78.2% of the participants had poor glycemic
control (HbA1c ≥ 7.0%).
Conclusion: Significant proportions of persons with T2DM had macro- and microvascular
complications and poor metabolic control. These findings are important for policy development
and the planning of health services
Follow-up strategies to better INSET within a Palestinian context
No full textThis paper was presented to the Conference of International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), held in Glasgow, 3rd-7th of April 2017A research study was done to investigate whether using different follow-up strategies as part of an INSET course within a Palestinian context affects the teaching performance of the participants. The main question was ‘Does using follow-up strategies as part of an INSET course improve the teaching performance of the participants within a Palestinian context?’ In order to answer this, other questions were added: First, what are the attitudes of teachers and trainers towards INSET courses in general? Second, what are the beliefs and attitudes of Palestinian teachers and trainers towards different follow-up strategies related to INSET? Third, what challenges face Palestinian trainers and teachers using follow-up strategies in their in-service training? and finally, how does using follow-ups affect the teaching performance of the teachers
Impact of electronic and blended learning programs for manual perineal support on incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries: a prospective interventional study
No full textBackground: Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) are associated with anal incontinence, dyspareunia and
perineal pain. Bimanual perineal support technique (bPST) prevents OASIS. The aim of this study was to assess theeffect of two different bPST training-methods on OASIS incidence.
Methods: This is a prospective-interventional quality improvement study conducted in two Palestinian maternity
units between June 1 2015 and December 31 2016. Women having spontaneous or operative vaginal-delivery at≥24 gestational-weeks or a birth weight of ≥1000 g (n = 1694) were recruited and examined vaginally and rectally immediately after vaginal birth by a trained assessor. Data on baseline OASIS incidence were collected during Phase-1 of the study. Subsequently, birth attendants in both maternity units were trained in bPST using two
training modalities. A self-directed electronic-learning (e-learning) using an animated video was launched in
phase-2 followed by a blended learning method (the animated e-learning video+ structured face-to-face training) in phase-3. OASIS incidence was monitored during phases-2 and 3. Variations in OASIS incidence between the three phases were assessed using Pearson-χ2-test (or Fisher’s-Exact-test). The impact of each training-method on OASIS incidence was assessed using logistic-regression analysis.
Results: A total of 1694 women were included; 376 in phase-1, 626 in phase-2 and 692 in phase-3. Compared to Phase-1, OASIS incidence was reduced by 45% (12.2 to 6.7%, aOR: 0.56, CI; 0.35–0.91, p = 0.018) and 74% (12.2 to 3.2%, aOR, 0.29, CI; 0.17–0.50, p < 0.001) in phases-2 and 3, respectively. There was also a significant reduction in OASIS incidence by 52% from phase-2 to phase-3 (6.7% (42/626) to 3.2% (22/692), p = 0.003). These reductions reached statistical significance among parous-women only (aOR: 0.18, CI; 0.07–0.49, p = 0.001) after the first training method tested in phase-2. However, the reduction was significant among both primiparous (aOR: 0.39, CI; 0.21–0.74, p = 0.004) and parous-women (aOR: 0.11, CI; 0.04–0.32, p < 0.001) after implementing the blended learning method in phase-3.
Conclusion: The animated e-learning video had a positive impact on reducing OASIS incidence. However, this
reduction was enhanced by the use of a blended learning programNorwegian Research Counci
Exploring the impact of EVs on the power grid with high penetration of RES
No full textElectric Vehicles (EVs) provide new opportunities
for the power grid, especially with high penetration of Renewable
Energy Source (RES). For instance, EVs can be utilized to store
energy and then provide energy to the power grid during the
high demand periods, improve power factor, and to mitigate the
over/under-voltage problems. Yet, EVs introduce new challenges
for the power grid, e.g., uncontrolled charging at the early
evening can aggravate the peak power demand problem. This
work focuses on smart strategies for charging EVs. Based on
mixed integer linear programming (MILP), we introduce two
smart strategies for charging the EVs, namely, the constant
demand and the profit maximization approaches. Additionally,
we explored the usage of rule-based control mechanisms to deal
with over/under-voltage and reactive power compensation. We
looked into different EV-applications in the power grid and
performed comprehensive simulation experiments. We simulate
the different components of the power grid as well as the
data communication network. The open source power simulator
(OpenDSS) was employed to simulate the power grid components
and the discrete event simulator (OMNeT++) was used to
simulate data communication system. These two simulators are
integrated in one framework called (SGsim), which can be used
to explore different ICT-based smart grid applications. The R
tool has been used to solve an optimization problem to get the
optimal schedule for charging EVs
Rainfed agroecosystem resilience in the Palestinian West Bank, 1918–2017
No full textpublished in : Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems ;
https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2018.1537324Research has shown that rai-fed (Baʿlī) cultivation provides a resilient agroecological structure. Recent work in agroecology has refined our understanding of agroecosystem resilience, but both temporal and geographical scales are often limited. Due to largely inaccessible and dwindling water resources, an examination of change at the scale of an agroecological landscape is required to better understand how rainfed agroecosystems remain resilient over an extensive period of time. Our article examines the relationship between agroecological landscape change and resilience in the face of powerful social-economic transformations. Our study combines the novel approach of geospatial, field and interview data in order to understand the long-term resilience of an entire agroecological landscape in the Palestinian West Bank. We argue that the study area has experienced a high level of resilience for over 70 years, perhaps for as long as 100 years, and this resilience is attributed not to a stability in production practices, but to a dynamism in practices that have enabled cultivators to adapt to broader political-economic shifts. In doing so, the paper calls for attention within agroecology and food systems research to the dynamism and resilience found within rainfed agroecosystems