Paracetamol biodegradation by activated sludge and photo-catalysis and its removal by a micelleclay complex, activated charcoal and reverse osmosis membranes

Kinetic studies on the stability of the pain killer paracetamol in Al-Quds activated sludge demonstrated that paracetamol underwent biodegradation within less than one month to furnish p-aminophenol in high yields. Characterizations of bacteria contained in Al-Quds sludge were accomplished. It was found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the bacterium most responsible for the biodegradation of paracetamol to p-aminophenol and hydroquinone. Batch adsorptions of paracetamol and its biodegradation product (p-aminophenol) by activated charcoal and a composite micelle (octadecyltrimethylammonium)-clay (montmorillonite) were determined at 25°C. Adsorption was adequately described by a Langmuir isotherm, and indicated better efficiency of removal by the micelle-clay complex. The ability of bench top reverse osmosis (RO) plant as well as advanced membrane pilot plant to remove paracetamol was also studied at different water matrixes to test the effect of organic matter composition. The results showed that at least 90% rejection was obtained by both plants. In addition, removal of paracetamol from RO brine was investigated by using photocatalytic processes; optimal conditions were found to be acidic or basic pH, in which paracetamol degraded in less than 5 min. Toxicity studies indicated that the effluent and brine were not toxic except for using extra low energy membrane which displayed a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC-50) value of 80%

Crowdfunding Campaign to Support the Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Estudis Internacionals de Pau, Conflictes i Desenvolupament (Pla de 2013). Codi: SBG120. Curs acadèmic: 2018/2019This project-based thesis is formed to shed light on the situation of the Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon, more particularly those refugees who live in camps administered and facilitated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (“UNRWA”), that provides them with humanitarian and human development services. The said Agency however, has been facing financial shortfall in recent years due to donor’s reluctance to financially support its cause, in addition to the acute measures implemented by strict Lebanese laws that stenosis the ability of the Agency to act and which also utterly limit the rights of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Hence, this project is designed and implemented to act as a social support for Palestinian refugees through UNWRA, whereby, the proposed campaign will try to collect donations via crowdfunding initiative to raise funding to ensure the continuity of the Agency in supporting the said refugees. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, this paper begins by briefly introducing the historical events that resulted in the Palestinian refugees’ crisis. Before discussing the situation of the said refugees in Lebanon, after which it will highlight UNRWA’s work, duties and services for the refugees. It then examines and evaluates the literature on crowdfunding projects as a potential source of funding for UNWRA’s work. Additionally, it compares and contrasts similar crowdfunding campaigns and initiatives and it will try to assess the strengths and weaknesses of crowdfunding campaigns, and will identify gaps in the literature (if any). Lastly, this paper will present the proposed campaign in hand and explains it in details

Financial stability report

In this paper, we present a novel technique for localizing an event of interest in an underwater environment. The network consists of randomly deployed identical sensor nodes. Instead of proactively localizing every single node in the network as all proposed techniques set out to do, we approach localization from a reactive angle. We reduce the localization problem to the problem of finding 4-Node Coverage, in which we form a subset of nodes such that every node in the original set is covered by four nodes belonging to this special subset – which we call the anchor nodes for simplicity. This subset of anchor nodes behaves like a backbone to the localization process. We show that in terms of energy consumption, this localization technique far surpasses others in terms of energy efficiency

E-commerce adoption by SMEs and its effect on marketing performance: An extended of TOE framework with ai integration, innovation culture, and customer tech-savviness

Even though the benefits of e-commerce for Small and Medium-Sized (SMEs) are enormous, not many SMEs have adopted e-commerce, especially in Palestine. Therefore, knowing what factors encourage SMEs to adopt e-commerce is necessary. However, e-commerce research has only been carried out on large-scale businesses. In contrast, studies on SMEs companies, especially regarding adopting e-commerce, have not been widely conducted. So, this research is important to determine what factors drive the adoption of e-commerce and the effect on marketing performance in Palestinian SMEs. The study's theoretical foundation is based on the TOE framework with AI Integration, Innovation Culture, and Customer Tech-Savviness. Using a simple random sampling technique from an online questionnaire, 305 SMEs were chosen as the sample for the study. The data were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to explore the relationships among exogenous, mediator, and endogenous variables. Based on the study's results, it can be concluded that AI Integration, Customer Savviness, innovative culture, competitive pressure and business partner pressure factors positively and significantly influence e-commerce adoption. In addition, adopting E-commerce positively and significantly affects SMEs' Marketing Performance. Based on the results of this study, theoretical implications for E-Commerce adoption in Palestinian SMEs and managerial implications are recommended accordingly

Behavioral And Emotional Problems Among Released Adolescent Male Prisoners In In Hebron and Bethlehem governorates

هدفت الدراسة التعرف إلى مدى انتشار المشكلات السلوكية والانفعالية لدى الأسرى المحررين من الذكور المراهقين في محافظتي الخليل وبيت لحم. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة استخدم الباحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، واشتملت عينة الدراسة على (223) مبحوثاً من الذين وافقوا على المشاركة في الدراسة، من الفئة العمرية أقل من 18 سنة خلال فترة أجراء الدراسة، حيث قاموا بتعبئة مقياس بيركس لتقدير السلوك Burks Behavior Rating Scale (BBRS) لسنة 1975، وبعد جمع البيانات عولجت إحصائياً باستخدام برنامج الرزم الإحصائية للعلوم الاجتماعية (SPSS). أظهرت النتائج أن مدى انتشار المشكلات السلوكية والانفعالية لدى الأسرى المحررين من الذكور المراهقين في محافظتي الخليل وبيت لحم جاءت بدرجة متوسطة، أظهرت النتائج عدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في متوسطات استجابات أفراد عينة الدراسة في مدى انتشار المشكلات السلوكية والانفعالية لدى الأسرى المبحوثين تعزى إلى ( العمر، عدد مرات الاعتقال، المحافظة، مكان السكن، مدة الاعتقال بالأشهر، المدة التي خرج منها من السجن، الحالة الدراسية، الحالة الاجتماعية للوالدين)، أظهرت النتائج وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في متوسطات استجابات أفراد عينة الدراسة حول مدى انتشار المشكلات السلوكية والانفعالية لدى الأسرى المحررين من الذكور المراهقين في محافظتي الخليل وبيت لحم تعزى لمتغير وقت الاعتقال، وكانت الفروق لصالح وقت الاعتقال الليلي، هم الذين كان لديهم مشكلات سلوكية وانفعالية أكثر. الكلمات المفتاحية: المشكلات السلوكية والانفعالية، الأسرى المحررين، المراهقين، محافظتي الخليل وبيت لحم The study aimed to identify the extent of the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems among the released male adolescent prisoners in the Hebron and Bethlehem governorates. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach, and the study sample included (223) respondents who agreed to participate in the study, of the age group less than 18 years during the period of conducting the study, who filled out the Burks Behavior Rating Scale (BBRS). ) for the year 1975, and after collecting the data, it was treated statistically by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that the extent of the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems among the released male adolescent prisoners in the south of the West Bank came to a medium degree. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the average responses of the study sample members in the extent of the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems among the surveyed prisoners due to (age, number of Arrest times, academic average for the last academic year for those in study, governorate, place of residence, length of detention in months, period of release from prison, educational status, marital status of parents), the results showed that there were statistically significant differences in the average responses of sample individuals The study on the extent of the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems among the released adolescent male prisoners in the south of the West Bank is due to the variable time of arrest, and the differences were in favor of the time of night detention, those who had more behavioral and emotional problems. Keywords: behavioral and emotional problems, released prisoners, adolescents