SARS-CoV-2 and interferon blockade

© 2020, The Author(s). The response to viral infection generally includes an activation of the adaptive immune response to produce cytotoxic T cells and neutralizing antibodies. We propose that SARS-CoV-2 activates the innate immune system through the renin-angiotensin and kallikrein-bradykinin pathways, blocks interferon production and reduces an effective adaptive immune response. This model has therapeutic implications

Evaluating Carbon Footprint in the Life Cycle Design of Residential Concrete Structures in Jordan

The construction industry is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and there is a growing global interest in reducing the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions associated with building construction and operation. Concrete, the most commonly used material in construction, is known to release a substantial amount of environmentally harmful waste throughout its life cycle, including production, construction, operation, and demolition. The worldwide production and consumption of concrete contribute to approximately 5% of all human-related CO2 emissions each year. To assess the carbon footprint of concrete manufacturing and its application in construction projects, a comprehensive approach called life cycle assessment (LCA) is necessary. This paper presents a new process-based LCA approach to analyze carbon emissions and evaluate the carbon footprint of concrete from raw material extraction to the end-of-life stage. To address carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of concrete structures in the Middle East, the study adopts a case study approach, focusing on selected concrete structures in Jordan. The findings from these case studies highlight that the operational phase of concrete structures is the primary contributor to carbon emissions. By thoroughly examining the carbon cycle within structures and their interactions with the surrounding ecosystem, significant reductions in CO2 emissions, environmental deterioration, and its consequences can be achieved. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-07-07 Full Text: PD

Modeling of Groundwater Recharge by Rainwater Harvesting-Wadi Bayer (Case Study)

Wadi Bayer is one of Jordan's desertic areas with very low precipitation and limited water resources. It is a typical example of the Jordanian water scarcity chronic condition. Groundwater recharging strategy is one of the long-term solutions of such water scarcity problem due to harsh climatic conditions and high evaporation rate. The groundwater resources in the area are utilized by the Bedoins for their domestic and cattles' uses. The groundwater is abstracted through three shallow wells drilled in the course of Wadi Bayer. The limited amount of the groundwater in the area is attributed to the limited natural recharge through the wadi bed during the occurrence of floods. In this study, a location of recharging dike was proposed at a distance of 150-200 m to the south-west of the existing wells, its reservoir area was estimated by 0.0285% of the catchment area of Wadi Bayer, which reflects the rare runoff occurrence. A home-made spread sheet model and an HEC-HMS model were used in order to estimate the surface runoff. The alluvium deposits and Rijam formation are the only rock unit groupings in the study area. The permeability of the topmost 2 meters, which form the floor of the reservoir, is 11.82*10-2 cm/sec. The top soil column was tested for permeability in the lab through test pit excavation. Seven boreholes were drilled in the site with different depths ranging from 5 to15m, the permeability test was conducted for different depths, ranging between 7.331* 10-6 and 1.805*10-3. A groundwater model was run using Processing Mode Flow software to indicate the natural recharge in the area due to the filling of the reservoir from flood water, for 30 day- and 15 day- retention periods. It was found that the groundwater table will rise in the range of 0.33 to 1.5 m and 0.11 to 0.90 m for both retention periods, respectively

Ya Quds Academic Cultural News Letter, Issue No. 4

This issue of Ya Quds! comes at a time when the Centre for Jerusalem Studies has appointed a new director, Arnan Bashir. We would like to wish him all the best in his endeavours to promote the vision and goals of the Centre. We would like to send out a call for the fifth issue of Ya Quds!, Articles may be in Arabic or English and should not exceed 1200 words. The deadline for submission is September 25, 2018

K-Means clustering of optimized wireless network sensor using genetic algorithm

Wireless sensor network is one of the main technology trends that used in several different applications for collecting, processing, and distributing a vast range of data. It becomes an essential core technology for many applications related to sense surrounding environment. In this paper, a two-dimensional WSN scheme was utilized for obtaining various WSN models that intended to be optimized by genetic algorithm for achieving optimized WSN models. Such optimized WSN models might contain two cluster heads that are close to each other, in which the distance between them included in the sensing range, and this demonstrates the presence of a redundant number of cluster heads. This problem exceeded by reapplying the clustering of all sensors found in the WSN model. The distance measure was used to detect handled problem, while K-means clustering was used to redistributing sensors around the alternative cluster head. The result was extremely encouraging in rearranging the dispersion of sensors in the detecting region with a conservative method of modest number of cluster heads that acknowledge the association for all sensors nearby

The incidence and risk factors of hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery

Background: Hypocalcaemia is a well-recognized complication of thyroid surgery. It is the most often transient event that occurs after extensive thyroid resection that may require calcium and/or vitamin D supplements to alleviate or prevent the symptoms. Objective: of this study is to determine the incidence of hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery and find out the risk factors involved regarding the patient age, gender, and muscular build, clinical diagnosis, the extent of surgery, ligation of the inferior thyroid artery, pathology report and the experience of the surgeon. Patients and methods: This prospective study was carried out on 100 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for various thyroid diseases at the surgical department of Baghdad teaching hospital in the period between November 2009 to November 2013.Serial serum calcium measurements were recorded as well as details of the operation, patient age and gender, ligation of the inferior thyroid artery or not, pathological report and experience of the operator. Hypocalcaemia was considered transient if it was resolved within 6 months and permanent if it persisted after 6 months and the patient was maintained on supplementation therapy of calcium and vitamin D. Results: We found that the incidence of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia was 30 % and in the majority of the cases (24%) was transient, while it was permanent in only (6%) of cases and had occurred mainly after total thyroidectomy and in cases with ligation of the inferior thyroid artery. Conclusions: We concluded that post thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia is a relatively common complication, but it is transient in the majority of the patients. Its incidence is related to the extent of the surgery and can be reduced by the use of the correct surgical procedures. Keywords: hypocalcaemia, post thyroidectomy, total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectom

GALLSTONES IN PATIENTS WITH INHERITED HEMOLYTIC DISEASES

The purpose is to provide an overview on the incidence of gallstone disease in patients with various types of inherited (chronic) hemolytic diseases at risk of cholelithiasis/choledocholithiasis with particular emphasis on its pathogenesis, genetic, risk factors and management. A detailed electronic literature search to determine the source of materials for this review article was done. The reported incidences of gallstones and choledocholithiasis vary according to the different types of inherited hemolytic diseases and the ethnicity of the studied populations. To date, no review article summarises the incidences of cholelithiasis in patients with various inherited haemolytic diseases was published. Regular ultrasound examination for the presence of gallstones recommended in patients with inherited haemolytic anaemias, particularly those with additional risk factors recommended. Further studies for evaluating the reasons for the higher incidence of cholelithiasis in thalassemia major and sickle cell anemia compared to hereditary spherocytosis; the effect of co inheritance of alpha thalassaemia on decreasing bilirubin level in patients with sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia; the effect of the co inheritance of UGT1A1 and ABCG8 gene mutation on the incidence of gallstones in other blood diseases such as Hb-H disease, autoimmune haemolytic anaemias, congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia, hereditary elliptocytosis, Southeast Asian Ovalocytosis, glucose-6-phosphate and pyruvate kinase deficiency are recommended. Evaluation of the potential role of the solubility of the mutant proteins and haemoglobin subunit in the red blood cells as an additional mechanism for the development of gallstones in patients with inherited haemolytic anaemias recommended

Phosphate ion removal from synthetic and real wastewater using MnFe2O4 nanoparticles: a reusable adsorbent

The purpose of this study was to eliminate phosphate (P) from wastewater using MnFe2O4 nanoparticles. BET, TGA/DTG, FTIR, SEM, TEM, VSM, XRD and EDX/Map analyses were used to determine the MnFe2O4 surface properties. The specific surface area of the adsorbent was 196.56 m2/g and VSM analysis showed that the adsorbent has a ferromagnetic property. The maximum P sorption efficiency using MnFe2O4 (98.52%) was achieved at pH 6, temperature of 55 °C, P concentration of 10 mg/L, time of 60 min, and sorbent dosage of 2.5 g/L, which is a significant value. Also, the thermodynamic study indicated that the P sorption process is spontaneous and endothermic. Moreover, the utmost sorption capacity of P using MnFe2O4 was 39.48 mg/g. Besides, MnFe2O4 can be used for up to 6 reuse cycles with high sorption efficiency (>91%). Also, MnFe2O4 was able to remove phosphate, COD, and BOD5 from municipal wastewater with considerable removal efficiencies of 82.7%, 75.8%, and 77.3%, respectively.Campus Lima Centr