Detecting Land use/cover dynamics and land suitability mapping for Irbid governorate using an integrated approach

This research proposes to design an approach recognizing land use/cover change for Irbid governorate from 1985 to 2015 in 10 years period bases, with an agriculture suitability map using remote sensing and GIS. In this paper, ENVI6 was used to analyse Landsat images, which helps to understand the land uses’ classes. LULC Changes results showed an increase in urban land, from 2% in 1985 reached to 11% in 2015; soil and agricultural classes had declined, in 1985 they were 74% of the total area, and reduced to 67% in 2015.  Irbid Governorate’s change detection results revealed that the decline of agriculture and rock land areas is due to the accelerated expansion of urbanization, which negatively affects agricultural lands. Modelling the area showed high suitability for agricultural activities, which should be considered for the upcoming plans

Characterization and Anaerobic Biodegradation of Single House Wastewater

Anaerobic biodegradation and characterization of wastewater produced at household level in rural areas in Jordan were considered in this study in order to investigate the possibility of applying house onsite low cost treatment systems. Results showed that the total chemical oxygen demand (CODtot) was 1.8 times higher during summer than during winter. The average CODtot during summer and winter amounted to 2982 mg/l and 1683 mg/l, respectively. The suspended fraction of the COD represents 41% and 38% of CODtot for summer and winter, respectively. Maximum anaerobic biodegradability of the wastewater was found to be 43% (COD basis) for unseeded samples and 59% for seeded samples after 159 days of digestion at 25ºC. Hydrolysis rate constant for the seeded samples was calculated to be 0.006 d-1 (R2= 0.877). Low biodegradability measured for the wastewater was mainly attributed to excessive use of detergents and disinfectants. Accordingly, household habits should be changed before effective biological anaerobic treatment can be considered

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant versus chemotherapy plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor in the treatment of pediatric Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Background: Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) remained until recently the molecular genetic abnormality associated with the worst outcome. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) was considered the treatment of choice, however, recent data have indicated that chemotherapy plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) maybe an alternative effective therapy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of children (<18 years) with Ph+ ALL who were treated at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) from January 2003 till December 2011. Results: Over a 9 year period, 411 children were diagnosed and treated for ALL at KHCC. Twenty three (6.6%) had Ph+ ALL; 16 males and 7 females. Median age at diagnosis was 9.5 years (range 1.67–17). The median white blood cell count was 58.6 × 103/μL (range 1.6–459). Twelve patients underwent HSCT from a full matched related donor; and 10 were treated with intensive chemotherapy plus TKI (imatinib). Those who underwent HSCT were significantly older (P = 0.004) and had a higher leukocyte count at diagnosis (P = 0.53). After a median follow up of 42.2 months (range 12.7–107), the estimated 5 year event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 75% and 91.6%, respectively, for those who underwent HSCT as primary therapy and 49.3% and 83.3%, respectively, for those treated with chemotherapy plus imatinib. There was no significant difference in EFS (P = 0.98) or OS (P = 1) between the two treatment modalities. Conclusions: Our results indicate that chemotherapy plus TKI may be a reasonable treatment option for some children with Ph+ ALL

Analysis of Historical Precipitation in Semi-Arid Areas – Case Study of the Amman Zarqa Basin

Climate change is determined as a severe threat to water resource availability in Semi-Arid Areas. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the drought trends to develop and sustain water resources. This study evaluates the effects of climate change in Jordan by investigating the long-term precipitation trends in the Amman Zarqa Basin over the water from 1971 to 2016. Daily precipitation data were gathered to analyze different rainfall stations over and around the basin. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) variations were investigated at monthly intervals. Control charts, hypothesis testing, T-test, differences of variances, and trend analysis were used to determine climatic trends. The analysis results showed that 2003 marks an acceleration point in the precipitation decrease rate; therefore, the SPI showed a decrease and a high DI for the area in the tested year 2005 and 2010 to be a mild drought in the following years. Additionally, a change in the precipitation pattern was observed as seasonal precipitation contribution varied for the pre-2003 period compared to the post-2003 period. The SPI results show that 1995 reflects the higher drought periods, and the following years showed mild drought events; nevertheless, the year 2016 displayed lower drought events, reflecting wet events

Impact of nanoscale magnetite and zero valent iron on the batch-wise anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and waste-activated sludge

As a potential approach for enhanced energy generation fromanaerobic digestion, iron-based conductive nanoparticles have been proposed to enhance the methane production yield and rate. In this study, the impact of two different types of iron nanoparticles, namely the nano-zero-valent-iron particles (NZVIs) and magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated, using batch test under mesophilic conditions (35 °C). Magnetite NPs have been applied in doses of 25, 50 and 80 mg/L, corresponding to 13.1, 26.2 and 41.9 mg magnetite NPs/gTS of substrate, respectively. The results reveal that supplementing anaerobic batches with magnetite NPs at a dose of 25 mg/L induces an insignificant effect on hydrolysis and methane production. However, incubation with 50 and 80 mg/L magnetite NPs have instigated comparable positive impact with hydrolysis percentages reaching approximately 95% compared to 63% attained in control batches, in addition to a 50% enhancement in methane production yield. A biodegradability percentage of 94% was achieved with magnetite NP doses of 50 and 80 mg/L, compared to only 62.7% obtained with control incubation. NZVIs were applied in doses of 20, 40 and 60 mg/L, corresponding to 10.8, 21.5 and 32.2 mg NZVIs/gTS of substrate, respectively. The results have shown that supplementing anaerobic batches with NZVIs revealed insignificant impact, most probably due to the agglomeration of NZVI particles and consequently the reduction in available surface area, making the applied doses insufficient for measurable effect.Sanitary Engineerin