Globalization and water resources management : the changing value of water

The Jordan River system, which is shared by Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Palestine, is a major issue in the current Middle East peace negotiations. Although we believe that the International Water Law is the most suitable basis to solve the disputes between Arab countries and Israel, it is worthwhile developing multi weighting approximation criteria for determining the water rights for the above riparian countries. The paper provides an overview of current resolution principles and procedures and presents the conflict resolution process in theory. The aim of this paper is to develop multi-criteria decision tool to the problem of allocating the waters of the Jordan River Basin between all riparian parties. The prime principle of the criteria is equitable and reasonable allocation factors identified by the International Law Commission in its draft articles on the non navigational uses of water. A general mathematical model was derived that found the optimal allocation outcome based on the weight of each factor. The approach presented here should be seen as a trial to deal with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over water rights in such complex trans-boundary water resources system. It is hoped that, water negotiators review this approach

The Status of Tourism Sector in Tafila Governorate: Challenges and Expectations

This study aimed at shedding light at the reality of tourism sector in Tafila governorate and presenting some of the challenges that face this sector. A questionnaire was designed for this purpose, and was distributed to the target sample of study. SPSS and one-way ANOVA methods were used for the study analysis. The study recommended the following:  much care should be given to tourist sites through intensive programs of propaganda and publicity; introducing these sites for local and foreign tourists; providing the necessary constituents (e.g. infrastructure) services as well as the necessary hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and, most importantly, having tourist guides available to introduce such tourist sites and review their history and benefits. Keywords: Tourist Sector, Tafila Governorate, Dana reserve, Efra baths

Impact Resisting Concrete

Different percentages of polymers have been added to concrete, to evaluate its  impact resistance. Mixes have been made for plain concrete with crushed stone, also plain concrete mixes with round gravel, Concrete mixes with (0.2, 0.85, 1.5 and 2.0) % of Melment to 100 Kg of binder, Concrete mixes with (0.2, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.5) liter of Glenium to 100 Kg of cement and concrete mixes with three sheets of polystyrene and concrete mixes made using polystyrene sheets with 0.85% by weight of Melment. Concrete with polystyrene sheets and Melment gives average compressive strength of 59.3Mpa, tensile strength of 5.8 Mpa and impact strength when the first crack appears was 1486 blows at 28 days. Using 0.85 % of Melment per 100Kg of binder enhance the concrete resistance to Impact. Using 0.5 Liter of Glenium per 100Kg of cement shows good performance of concrete to Impact. Using three layers of Polystyrene sheets with 0.85% of Melment gives high compressive strength and improve the Impact capacity of concrete. Polystyrene sheets increases the adhesive forces between materials in the mix and superplasticizers increases the workability so as to produce self compacting concrete. Keywords: Polystyrene, Melment, Glenium, Impact Strength. Self Compacting Concrete

Automatic Features Recognition for Symmetrical Shapes

The future of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing(CAM) depends on the ability of their two processes to communicate with eachother and with intermediate manufacturing database. Therefore, the development ofa successful approach to the integration of CAD and CAM will require solution toseveral fundamental problems in planning and geometric reasoning. The firstproblem is the interface between CAD and CAM, that automatic featurerecognition is an indispensable technique to solve this problem. We address thisproblem by developing an algorithm, which is considered an effective approach toextraction and of hybrid manufacturing features of symmetrical parts. Thedeveloped algorithm is based on the syntactic pattern primitive concept supportedby production rule technique. This approach is considered a powerful tool appliedto feature recognition field for symmetrical parts

Question Shifts in the Discourse of Hanafi Jurisprudence (the Body and its Rights as a Model)

This study aims to show the authority of HanafiFiqh\u27s text and its scope to comprehend the contemporary Islamic identity in the current Arab situation, which suffers from certain incidents occurred to it while making arguments with the other. Due to the expansion of the literary type dealing with human rights, its significant to look into our Fiqh because the topic has importance in the third millennium. In this time, humanity felt alienated after World War II. This work falls into two points: the first deals with the narrative\u27s potentiality of comprehension in the Hanafi Fiqh\u27s origin and its rhetoric; The second the body is a new reading proposed in terms of honor between theory and practic

Evaluating The Impact of Giving Tooth Brushing Story Books on The Dental Plaque Levels of Children; A Parallel Arm Non-Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: To assess the effect of giving toothbrushing storybooks along with verbal oral hygiene (OHI) instructions on plaque levels to schoolchildren. Methodology: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in a private school in Islamabad from October to November 2022. Children in Class V were selected as the Experimental Group I (Storybooks + OHI), while Class IV children were placed in the Control Group II (OHI alone). There were 20 students in each group. Plaque levels were compared at the baseline (before intervention) and after seven days. Toothbrushing practices were recorded at the baseline. Results: The mean age of the children was 9.6 + 1.08 years. A total of 16 (40%) boys and 24 (60%) girls were included in the study. Children in Group II had significantly better self-reported toothbrushing practices with 16 (80%) children brushing twice a day, as compared to 10 (50%) children from Group I (p = 0.041). There was no difference in the reduction in plaque scores between group I (0.14 + 0.21) and group II (0.08 + 0.21; p = 0.382). Conclusion: Giving story books to children is not an effective intervention to improve the oral hygiene status of children, as compared to oral hygiene instructions alone

Erratum: Rotavirus Genotypes and Vaccine Effectiveness from a Sentinel, Hospital-Based, Surveillance Study for Three Consecutive Rotavirus Seasons in Lebanon.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161345.]