Sick Building Syndrome in Apartment Buildings in Jordan

The present study was conducted to investigate the concept of sick building syndrome which has recently been receiving attention to improve the indoor environmental quality in housing projects in Jordan. Apartment buildings were selected in three locations in Jordan; Amman, Irbid and Zarqa to represent different climatic regions in Jordan. The methods of enquiries were based on observation(physical architectural and detailed analysis of the buildings),calculations of the environmental factors which affect indoor air quality and healthy environment and questionnaires designed and distributed to investigate occupants’ perception in terms of health and building conditions. The findings revealed that there were significant differences among geographical locations of apartment buildings in Jordan. Zarqa had the most severe condition because of the crowdness in the urban setting and the extreme weather conditions. Moreover, building physical configuration and attributes such as window sizes and types, envelope design, location of the apartment in the building, orientation and building layout had significant effects on the concept of the sick building syndrome

Financial Transfer and Its Impact on the Level of Democracy: A Pooled Cross-Sectional Time Series Model.

This dissertation is a pooled time series, cross-sectional, quantitative study of the impact of international financial transfer on the level of democracy. The study covers 174 developed and developing countries from 1976 through 1994. Through evaluating the democracy and democratization literature and other studies, the dissertation develops a theory and testable hypotheses about the impact of the international variables foreign aid and foreign direct investment on levels of democracy. This study sought to determine whether these two financial variables promote or nurture democracy and if so, how? A pooled time-series cross-sectional model is developed employing these two variables along with other relevant control variables. Control variables included the presence of the Cold War and existence of formal alliance with the United States, which account for the strategic dimension that might affect the financial transfer - level of democracy linkage. The model also includes an economic development variable (per capita Gross National Product) to account for the powerful impact for economic development on the level of democracy, as well as a control for each country's population size. By addressing and the inclusion of financial, economic, strategic, and population size effects, I consider whether change in these variables affect the level of democracy and in which direction. The dissertation tests this model by employing several techniques. The variables are subjected to bivariate and multivariate analysis including bivariate correlations, analysis of variance, and ordinary least square (OLS) multivariate regression with robust matrix and a lagged dependent variable. Panel corrected standard error (PCSE) was also employed to empirically test the pooled timeseries cross-sectional multivariate model. The dissertation analytical section concludes with path analysis testing which showed the impact of each of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The findings indicate less impact of international financial variables upon the level of democracy than hypothesized. Foreign assistance correlates negatively with economic development levels and has no effect on democracy levels. In contrast, foreign direct investment associates positively to economic development levels and, through increased economic development, contributes to democracy

Evaluating Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) as Modifying Factor in Designing Public School Buildings in Jordan

The most fundamental goal in the design of educational facilities is to provide an environment that encourages learning achievement for students and teachers. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can negatively affect student health, comfort and performance that will eventually produce unacceptable learning environment. Poor IAQ can decrease a person's ability to perform specific mental tasks requiring concentration, calculation and memory. Therefore, schools should be designed, built and maintained in away to minimize and control the source of pollution. Around 29% of Jordanians occupy school buildings each day. A specific prototype building design was applied in the different locations of the country. This prototype could be appropriate for one location but it is not for the entire country that has diversity in climatic and environmental conditions The purpose of this research paper was to evaluate the indoor air quality in public school buildings in urban and rural area, through investigations of the causes and its effects on student health, comfort, and performance. Achieving healthy indoor air quality is a multifaceted a problem which can be arrived at by a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the design, construction and operation of the school building. Results indicate that the prototype system used was not appropriate as healthy school design, and it did not take into consideration the indoor environmental factors as crucial issue in designing school buildings

The Role of Media and Islamic Criminal Legislation in Reducing Crime (From the perspective of students of the University of Jordan)

The study aimed to know the role of the media and its various styles, as well as the role of Islamic criminal legislation in reducing crime and identifying the obstacles that limit the effectiveness of the media in the prevention of crime. A random sample of 600 students was selected at different university levels at the University of Jordan, as well as personal background factors (independent variables): sex, place of residence, specialty, so that eleven different positions were identified, asking the respondents to determine their opinion on their respective trends. Keywords: Role, Media, Islamic Criminal Legislation, Crime DOI: 10.7176/JPCR/44-05 Publication date: September 30th 201

Critical success factors of construction projects in Jordan : An empirical investigation

The construction sector is considered one of the most important engines of the national economy in any country; in addition to that, it clearly contributes to improving the quality of life of individuals. In the construction industry, project success is crucial, because it reflects positively on the growth of the national economy, in partnership with other sectors related to it directly and indirectly. However, construction projects often come with disappointment in completion within time, cost, and quality, for multiple reasons throughout the project life cycle. The aim of this study is to determine the factors that affect the success of construction projects, based on realistic project data. To achieve this goal, data were collected and analyzed from the final reports of a number of projects that had been implemented in 15 years. The result illustrates that the most significant and vital factors for the success of the construction project are: quality-related factors, cost-related factors, time-related factors, contract-related factors, and related external factors. Results help project stakeholders improve construction project performance by identifying factors that have affected project success. This allows them to take appropriate measures for every worker to ensure the success of their projects. In addition, this study contributes to the current body of knowledge by being one of the few studies that analyze project data to identify critical success factors for construction projects in developing countries

Enhancement of Solar Water Desalination Using Copper and Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

In this research, two identical solar stills were designed and constructed to investigate the effect of adding copper and aluminum oxide nanoparticles on the quantity of water produced by solar desalination. The two solar stills were installed side by side, and measurements were recorded simultaneously from both stills. The nanoparticles were added to one still, each at one time but with different concentrations, while the other contained only water. Data acquisition and a weather station were used to record the glass, water, and ambient temperatures in addition to the hourly solar radiation. It was found that the addition of nanoparticles increases the amount of condensate. The most efficient concentrations were found to be 0.4% of Al2O3 and 0.6% of CuO. At these concentrations, an increase in the efficiency of the still equals 7.8%, and 9.62% was recorded. Furthermore, it was found that CuO has a more pronounced effect on the condensate than Al2O3 at all concentrations except at 0.4% concentration

Hospital Admissions Due to Ischemic Heart Diseases and Prescriptions of Cardiovascular Diseases Medications in England and Wales in the Past Two Decades

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the trend of ischemic heart disease (IHD) admission and the prescriptions of IHD medications in England and Wales. Methods: A secular trends study was conducted during the period of 1999 to 2019. We extracted hospital admission data for patients from all age groups from the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales. Prescriptions of IHD medications were extracted from the Prescription Cost Analysis database from 2004 to 2019. The chi-squared test was used to assess the difference between the admission rates and the difference between IHD medication prescription rates. The trends in IHD-related hospital admission and IHD-related medication prescription were assessed using a Poisson model. The correlation between hospital admissions for IHD and its IHD medication-related prescriptions was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Our study detected a significant increase in the rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) medication prescriptions in England and Wales, representing a rise in the CVD medications prescription rate of 41.8% (from 539,334.95 (95% CI = 539,286.30–539,383.59) in 2004 to 764,584.55 (95% CI = 764,545.55–764,623.56) in 2019 prescriptions per 100,000 persons), with a mean increase of 2.8% per year during the past 15 years. This increase was connected with a reduction in the IHD hospital admission rate by 15.4% (from 838.50 (95% CI = 836.05–840.94) in 2004 to 709.78 (95% CI = 707.65–711.92) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p < 0.01), with a mean decrease of 1.02% per year during the past 15 years and by 5% (from 747.43 (95% CI = 745.09–749.77) in 1999 to 709.78 (95% CI = 707.65–711.92) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p < 0.01) with a mean decrease of 0.25% per year during the past two decades in England and Wales. Conclusion: The rate of hospitalisation due to IHD has decreased in England and Wales during the past two decades. Hospitalisation due to IHD was strongly and negatively correlated with the increase in the rates of dispensing of IHD-related medications. Other factors contributing to this decline could be the increase in controlling IHD risk factors during the past few years. Future studies exploring other risk factors that are associated with IHD hospitalisation are warranted

Concussion-related disruptions to hub connectivity in the default mode network are related to symptoms and cognition

Concussions present with a myriad of symptomatic and cognitive concerns; however, the relationship between these functional disruptions and the underlying changes in the brain are not yet well understood. Hubs, or brain regions that are connected to many different functional networks, may be specifically disrupted after concussion. Given the implications in concussion research, we quantified hub disruption within the default mode network (DMN) and between the DMN and other brain networks. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from collegiate student-athletes (n = 44) at three timepoints: baseline (prior to beginning their athletic season), acute post-injury (approximately 48 hours after a diagnosed concussion), and recovery (after starting return-to-play progression, but prior to returning to contact). We used self-reported symptoms and computerized cognitive assessments collected across similar timepoints to link these functional connectivity changes to clinical outcomes. Concussion resulted in increased connectivity between regions within the DMN compared to baseline and recovery, and this post-injury connectivity was more positively related to symptoms and more negatively related to visual memory performance compared to baseline and recovery. Further, concussion led to decreased connectivity between DMN hubs and visual network non-hubs relative to baseline and recovery, and this post-injury connectivity was more negatively related to somatic symptoms and more positively related to visual memory performance compared to baseline and recovery. Relationships between functional connectivity, symptoms, and cognition were not significantly different at baseline versus recovery. These results highlight a unique relationship between self-reported symptoms, visual memory performance and acute functional connectivity changes involving DMN hubs after concussion in athletes. This may provide evidence for a disrupted balance of within- and between-network communication highlighting possible network inefficiencies after concussion. These results aid in our understanding of the pathophysiological disruptions after concussion and inform our understanding of the associations between disruptions in brain connectivity and specific clinical presentations acutely post-injury

The Prevalence of Nocturnal Enuresis among Patients with Vesicoureteral Reflux

Background: To identify the prevalence and other associated factors of nocturnal enuresis in children with vesicoureteral reflux undergoing surgical interventions.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study were the medical records of 40 children with confirmed vesicoureteral reflux were reviewed. Additionally, parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire inquiring about presence, onset & course of nocturnal enuresis as has been defined according to ICD-10.Results: Among the 40 children, 22 children (55%) had nocturnal enuresis before any surgical intervention. However; gender, family history of bedwetting, renal hydronephrosis on ultrasound, positive urine culture, and pre-op creatinine level were found to have statistically insignificant association with nocturnal enuresis. After surgical management only 13 (32.5%) children experienced nocturnal enuresis.Conclusion: This study can conclude that there is a weak correlation between NE and VUR in patients undergoing surgical intervention. Also, the surgical management of VUR did not significantly affect the prevalence of NE. However, it is an essential problem for both families and children in Jordan for which specific guidelines should be developed

Techniques for Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Inoculum Reduction

It is well established that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can play a significant role in sustainable crop production and environmental conservation. With the increasing awareness of the ecological significance of mycorrhizas and their diversity, research needs to be directed away from simple records of their occurrence or casual speculation of their function (Smith and Read 1997). Rather, the need is for empirical studies and investigations of the quantitative aspects of the distribution of different types and their contribution to the function of ecosystems. There is no such thing as a fungal effect or a plant effect, but there is an interaction between both symbionts. This results from the AM fungi and plant community size and structure, soil and climatic conditions, and the interplay between all these factors (Kahiluoto et al. 2000). Consequently, it is readily understood that it is the problems associated with methodology that limit our understanding of the functioning and effects of AM fungi within field communities. Given the ubiquous presence of AM fungi, a major constraint to the evaluation of the activity of AM colonisation has been the need to account for the indigenous soil native inoculum. This has to be controlled (i.e. reduced or eliminated) if we are to obtain a true control treatment for analysis of arbuscular mycorrhizas in natural substrates. There are various procedures possible for achieving such an objective, and the purpose of this chapter is to provide details of a number of techniques and present some evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages. Although there have been a large number of experiments to investigated the effectiveness of different sterilization procedures for reducing pathogenic soil fungi, little information is available on their impact on beneficial organisms such as AM fungi. Furthermore, some of the techniques have been shown to affect physical and chemical soil characteristics as well as eliminate soil microorganisms that can interfere with the development of mycorrhizas, and this creates difficulties in the interpretation of results simply in terms of possible mycorrhizal activity. An important subject is the differentiation of methods that involve sterilization from those focussed on indigenous inoculum reduction. Soil sterilization aims to destroy or eliminate microbial cells while maintaining the existing chemical and physical characteristics of the soil (Wolf and Skipper 1994). Consequently, it is often used for experiments focussed on specific AM fungi, or to establish a negative control in some other types of study. In contrast, the purpose of inoculum reduction techniques is to create a perturbation that will interfere with mycorrhizal formation, although not necessarily eliminating any component group within the inoculum. Such an approach allows the establishment of different degrees of mycorrhizal formation between treatments and the study of relative effects. Frequently the basic techniques used to achieve complete sterilization or just an inoculum reduction may be similar but the desired outcome is accomplished by adjustments of the dosage or intensity of the treatment. The ultimate choice of methodology for establishing an adequate non-mycorrhizal control depends on the design of the particular experiments, the facilities available and the amount of soil requiring treatment