Probable Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Some Long-Term Irrigated Soils with Zarga River Water in Jordan

Heavy metals are bio-accumulated and bio-transferred both by natural and anthropogenic sources. The contamination by heavy metals in plants and water is one of the major issues to be faced throughout the world and requires attention because heavy metals above their normal ranges are extremely threatened to both plant and animal life. It was therefore of interest to conduct study to estimate levels of heavy metals in water and soil at Zarga River. Soil and water samples were also analyzed for physico-chemical parameters such as pH, and electrical conductivity. The aims of this study were to determine level of some heavy metals in water of Zarga River and to examine the probable accumulation of heavy metals in soils irrigated with Zarga river water in contrast with adjacent soils in the area. Results showed that the pH, EC, and water electrolytes (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, HCO3, SO4) of water samples at the middle of the river (B) were higher than that at the beginning or at the end of the river . On the other hand, it was shown that the pH, EC, Cd, Pb, and Ni values of soil samples near the river (location A) were higher than other samples that were away including (B location) and (C location). Keywords: Soil, Heavy metals, Water, pH, Electrical conductivit

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Water policy in Jordan

The primary problems in water quality and availability in Jordan stem from poor long-term planning. This paper looks at past and current policies related to water management, considers their weaknesses, and suggests means of improving the management and planning aspects and the need for desalination infrastructure. The major water issues in Jordan can be attributed to both policy implementation failure and a lack of on-the-ground application of regulations. This study indicates that desalination of Red Sea water can be a long-term viable option to meet the growing domestic water needs within Jordan

Are there Monthly Variations in Water Quality in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa Regions, Jordan?

This study investigated the monthly variation of water quality in the Amman-Zarqa and Balqa regions in Jordan in terms of pH, ammonium, nitrate and conductivity. During 2004 there was no monthly variation in water quality for most of the tested parameters. All readings were above the accepted range except for pH, indicating that land use does have an impact on water quality irrespective of urban, industrial or agricultural usage. The water quality remained for the most part below the maximum levels for drinking standards in Jordan, but these standards are often below the WHO recommendations. The pH was found to fluctuate through the year. Nitrate levels were highly seasonal in irrigated lands but remained stable over basin covered by other land uses. Ammonium levels were high in areas of urbanisation and intensive animal husbandry as a consequence of effluent infiltration, peaking during the wet season due to increased infiltration. These results indicate that, over an annual cycle, the variation in water quality remains constant; however the continued drawdown of the aquifer system will inevitably lead to deterioration in the parameters investigated

Water issues in the Kingdom of Jordan: A brief review with reasons for declining quality

This paper examines the problems of water shortage and quality issues in the Kingdom of Jordan. Demand for water has led to a decimation of ground water supplies and a significant rise in salinity. This rise in salinity can be traced to increasing saline base flows, the reduction in natural flows, changing extent of agriculture, agricultural practices, contamination of irrigation systems with saline inflow and poor infrastructural planning. Water security in Jordan is a very serious issue due to the rapid increase in population growth. Jordan is faced with the need to tighten regulations in water treatment, address the issue of domestic supply losses and illegal drawdown of ground water in the short term to gain significant inroads into the water problem. However, in the longer term, there is a need for a review of current infrastructure and its functionality, changing agricultural practice and finding sustainable sources of water

Mapping hotspots of underground water quality based on the variation of chemical concentration in Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions, Jordan

This study uses geographic information systems to map the hotspots level changes in underground water quality based on pH, nitrate and conductivity in Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions, Jordan using data from 57 wells. The chemical concentration for each parameter was obtained from the Water Authority of Jordan. The data were tested according to ISO/IEC 17025 standards by the Jordan Inorganic Laboratory of the Laboratories and Quality Department of Water Authority for 2004 and 2010 and were processed using Getis-Ord Gi statistics. The study indicated that there are periodic fluctuations for the values of selected chemical elements of groundwater that are localized, creating contamination hotspots within the study regions. The pH, nitrate and conductivity all indicated specific hotspots of higher than average values in 2004 and 2010 in the Zarqa region. The evidence indicates that there are two major localized areas of high value for all parameters centered in the western Zarqa region, an area dominated by urban infrastructure and irrigated lands. These findings have implications for the management of aquifer water quality through the identification of high-value hotspots. Because the aquifers in the regions are connected, understanding the hotspots with high pH, nitrate and conductivity values may enable improvements in the water quality across the aquifer systems in the regions

Changing demographics, expanding urban areas and modified agricultural extents and their impacts on water availability and water quality in Jordan

Current water use in Jordan is unsustainable in terms of both supply and quality. The growth in population, primarily as a consequence of pulse immigration stemming from regional conflicts, has led to serious water shortages in urban centers, which is expected to worsen in the future. The agricultural sector is moving towards intensification and a high reliance on irrigation, which is unsustainable in the face of dwindling supplies and rising contamination, principally due to salinity. The decline in field crops is a consequence of climatic fluctuations such as rainfall, while the nature of the plots, often small and isolated, make economies of scale problematic. Unless there is a significant shift in the trend of population growth, and controls on the use of irrigation, Jordan faces inevitable social conflict and irrevocable loss of agricultural land

Using spatial analyses tools to study the impact of changing demographics, agricultural extents and urban growth on water quality and availability in the Amman-Zarqa basin, Jordan

Jordan is one of the countries in the world facing a water crisis, as current water usage in the country is unsustainable in terms of both supply and quality. The water demands of Jordan have led to a decimation of underground water with a rise in salinity in the aquifers. The high population growth and pulse immigration stemming from worsening regional conflicts has led to serious water shortages in urban centres and villages. Jordan faces almost inevitable social conflict and the irrevocable loss of agricultural land due to the increase in refugee numbers from neighbouring countries and general population growth. With the consequences of climatic fluctuations, such as rainfall, there has been a significant shift in the agricultural sector towards intensification and a high reliance on irrigation. The underground water sources are an important source of drinking water, agricultural production and industrial use. Underground water in Jordan is inherently susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic activities, which to remedy is difficult and costly. Identifying and preventing the sources of underground water pollution is critical for underground water management. The aims of this project were primarily to address the water problem in Jordan through identifying the extent of the resource reduction, and establishing the reasons for its decline in quality

Parental perception of fluoridated tap water

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate parental knowledge and preference of tap water in a country where faucet water is fluoridated according to international standards and where the average percentage of dental caries in young children reaches up to approximately 73%. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional perspective study was conducted at Hamad Medical Corporation, the only tertiary care and academic hospital in the state of Qatar. Parents of children older than 1 year of age were offered an interview survey. Results: A total of 200 questionnaires were completed (response rate = 100%). The mean age of participant children was 6 ± 4 years. One of the main finding in our study was that primary care physicians never discussed the topic of the best water choice for children in our community, as expressed by more than 86% of parents. More than two-third of parents used bottled water. The main concerns of why parents did not allow their children to drink tap water were taste (8.94%), smell (9.76%), concerns of toxins content (32.52%), and concerns that tap water might cause unspecified sickness (52.03%). Amid revealing participants that our tap water is safe and that fluorine can prevent dental caries, 33% of parents would you use tap water due to its fluoride content. The study also showed that 65% of parents would allow their children to drink tap water if it is free from any toxic ingredients. Conclusion: Actions to augment fluoridated water acceptability in the developing world, such as focusing on safety and benefits, could be important in the disseminated implementation of the use of faucet water. Ultimately, a slump in the prevalence of dental caries among children will depend on the ability of pediatricians and dental professionals to institute evidence-based and preventive approach that can benefit oral health in childhood. These data will also allow us to propose the use of tap water safely in young children in the state of Qatar while simultaneously advocating awareness of oral health

Protecting Digital Images Using Keys Enhanced by 2D Chaotic Logistic Maps

This research paper presents a novel digital color image encryption approach that ensures high-level security while remaining simple and efficient. The proposed method utilizes a composite key r and x of 128-bits to create a small in-dimension private key (a chaotic map), which is then resized to match the color matrix dimension. The proposed method is uncomplicated and can be applied to any image without any modification. Image quality, sensitivity analysis, security analysis, correlation analysis, quality analysis, speed analysis, and attack robustness analysis are conducted to prove the efficiency and security aspects of the proposed method. The speed analysis shows that the proposed method improves the performance of image cryptography by minimizing encryption–decryption time and maximizing the throughput of the process of color cryptography. The results demonstrate that the proposed method provides better throughput than existing methods. Overall, this research paper provides a new approach to digital color image encryption that is highly secure, efficient, and applicable to various images