International Graduate Conference on Science, Humanities and Engineering 2011 (IGCSHE2011)

The free living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans represent one of the best investigated model organisms in modernbiological research. Among the numerous advantages, the worm is inexpensive to cultivate, its genome iscompletely sequenced and a broad range of molecular and genetic tools are available. The worm has a short lifespanwhere it progresses from eggs via four larval stages to fertile adults in three days allowing rapid experimentation.Although C. elegans is a relative simple multicellular organism, it contains a variety of tissues like a nervoussystem, muscles and intestine, which make it a suitable system for various fundamental studies. The worm istransparent at every stage of their life cycle that makes it easy to analyse expression patterns of proteins within theworms by using markers such as green fluorescent protein. RNA interference which allows the investigation of genefunction by specific suppression of proteins is feasible with these organisms. There are several applications to theusage of C. elegans in medical research. Accordingly, the worm is an established model to study diseases such asparkinson’s, obesity, muscular dystrophy or biological processes such as aging. C. elegans is also useful for drugscreening such as antihelminthics. The paper will discuss the identification of the first metazoan polyaminetransporter which is of potential pharmacological importance.

Cardiac injury is difficult to assess, both clinically and by echocardiography, because it is not always an acutecondition in intensive care unit.Cardiac troponin-I (cTnI), highly sensitive and specific marker for acute myocardial injury. Cardiac troponin-I hasbeen shown to correlate with outcome in selected group of patients. We wanted to determine if cTnI level measuredupon admission is an independent predictor of mortality in selected group of clinically ill patients.

The emergence of the Bologna Process as the most outstanding reform movement in higher education in Europe and the launching of its principles in the University of Bologna in 1999, brought about new realities that compel members and nonmembers of the Bologna process to prepare their educational institutions for its consequences. Today, a block of more than four thousand universities in 51 countries is formed on the principles of the harmonization of education, mobility and joint research, lifelong education, and cooperation in education. These realities make it necessary for Palestinian universities to acquaint themselves with the movement and its attractions and consequences. Palestinian institutions of higher education are virtually influenced by the Bologna Process whether knowingly or unknowingly. In Palestine, we are after change, networking among educational institutions of higher education, increasing the employability of our graduates in the world job market, and upgrading the quality of higher education that we offer to our students. There is enough reason for Palestinian institutions of higher education to study the Bologna principles with an eye on the possible advantages that we may reap without losing sight of the possible difficulties that may arise and without compromising our national ideals and the cultural signatures of our educational needs. This research aims at acquainting students and faculty members at Palestinian universities with the Bologna Process and at examining its effect on our educational system and the future of higher education at the Palestinian universities.

Among the most important characters to consider in crop breeding programmes, is resistance to pathogens and pests.There is strong consensus, that growing genetically resistant cultivars is the most appropriate and cost effectivemeans of managing pests and diseases, and is one of the key components of crop improvement. The drawbacks ofresistance are few. One of the important concerns of resistance breeders is the specificity and durability of theresistance incorporated in their cultivars. Strategies for identification and utilisation of durable sources of resistancewill be critically discussed, with special focus on cereal and legume crops.

The role of entrepreneurship in economic performance has been widely acknowledged in economic theory as well as in recent experiences within countries in various stages of economic development. Institutions of higher learning are in a unique position to contribute to business and economic development by building effective programs in global entrepreneurship. These programs can involve various units within the College or University and form the basis for substantial interaction with the private and public sectors.

Code switching is a linguistic subject which deals with sociolinguistic facts and features. The paper starts by defining the term and clarifying its multiple facets. It then proceeds to integrate the subject within bilingualism and multilingualism in a way that leads to talk about code switching types and motivations.
Examples are given in detail in different languages: Arabic-Arabic, Arabic-English and Arabic-French. Speaker variations in speech are explained through the given illustrations, and finally, the conclusion is outlined.

The general trend in the recent development in biology, pharmaceutics, and medicine is closely related to the utilization of nanotechnology. One of the examples is in gene therapy where DNA has to be delivered into a cell, for example, correct the genetic defects of damaged sites. Here the challenge is to be able to transport DNA, through the cell walls. This can be achieved by condensing DNA with an oppositely charged specimen, such as positively charged poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers, as a way of replacing viral vectors as gene carriers for in vivo transfer. Transfection efficiency and functionality of DNA complexed with dendrimers may depend on the structure, size, and the charge density of these dendrimers. To study the effect of the size and the charge of the dendrimer on the condensed aggregates, the interaction between positively charged dendrimers of generations 2, 4, 6, 8 and linearized DNA plasmids (4331 bp) has been investigated using a theoretical model for semiflexible polyelectrolyte and soft (penetrable) spheres.

In this study, the dielectric function of phthalocyanine compounds (ZnPc, H2Pc, CuPc, and FePc) were investigatedby analyzing the measured capacitance and loss tangent data. The dielectric function was found to be stronglytemperature and frequency dependent. The real part of dielectric constant ε1 increases at temperatures above roomtemperature and low frequencies, while at low temperatures and high frequencies it saturates to a constant value.The dependence on the frequency was expressed as: s1 A, where A is a constant, the index s assumesnegative values (s < 0). The type of electrode material was found to have no effect on the behavior of real part ofthe dielectric constant but it is affect the value of dielectric constant. The values of real part of dielectric constantfor Au electrodes are larger than those of the values of Al electrodes. In addition, data analysis shows that theimaginary part of dielectric constant depends on frequency as m2 B. The values of index m were found tobe less than zero. Also, the values of m decreases with increasing temperature for Au-ZnPc-Au. The imaginary partof dielectric constant ε2 is frequency and temperature dependent. At low frequencies and all temperatures, a strongdependence is observed, while at higher frequencies, a moderate dependence is obvious especially for the Auelectrodesample.Maximum barrier height has been estimated for ZnPc with different electrodes and found to be in range of (0.17 to 4eV). For both electrodes the maximum barrier height increases with increasing frequency and decreases withtemperatures until to zero Kelvin temperature. The values of maximum barrier height of Al-ZnPc-Al are less thanthose observed for Au-ZnPc-Au sample.The relaxation time, τ, was calculated for ZnPc and FePc films as a function of frequency. τ increases withdecreasing frequency for both phthalocyanine compounds (ZnPc, FePc), but the values of ZnPc are closer to eachother than FePc values.The activation energy of ZnPc and FePc were calculated from the slopes of τ versus 1/T curves at low temperaturesand found to be 0.01 eV and 0.04 eV respectively. The low values of activation energy suggest that the hopping ofcharge carriers between localized states is the dominant mechanism. In general, the behavior of dielectric propertiesof the different phthalocyanine compounds are qualitatively almost the same, but there are some differences in theirvalues. This variation may be related to the type of electrodes, thickness of sample, and growth conditions.

We are well into the twenty-first century. But even as technology, communications and globalised business and trade continue to advance rapidly, humanity is still confronted with problems like mass poverty, glaring inequalities in socio-economic conditions and opportunities, environmental degradation, conflict and violence. Progress in these spheres lag far behind the advances in the former spheres. More significantly, these issues call for fundamental re-thinking, re-orientation, and re-direction of human affairs. Technology, trade and public policy would then serve new, humanitarian ends in place of merely commercial and power-related goals. Education is the key means through which this transformation could be achieved, through inculcating in students and youth the vision of a better world, the will to advance towards that and the practical skills to make it happen. The presentation provokes students to re-examine unquestioned assumptions and aspirations, towards making a paradigm shift in thinking. Such a shift would then transform students’ perspectives on the role and value of education. And thus define a new generation of qualities and skills, which can help to realize a better world for all.

The motion of an atomic electron in its orbit. The usual treatment deals with the change in magnetic dipole momentassuming the electron's speed changes but the radius of its orbit remains unchanged. We derive the change in themagnetic dipole moment allowing both the speed and the radius to change. The cases of fixed radius on one handand of fixed speed on the other are treated as special cases of our general case.

This study aims to investigate the effect of lexical and morpho-syntactic knowledge on reading comprehension. It also aims to investigate if there are significant differences between subjects' performance in reading comprehension according to sex and general ability in English (GAE).
The study aims at answering the following questions:
1- To what extent are the effects of lexical and grammatical knowledge on subjects' performance in reading comprehension?
2-What is the difference in performance in reading comprehension between male and female subjects who have background knowledge on lexis and morpho-syntactic and those who do not have any knowledge?
3- What is the difference between subjects' performance in reading comprehension and their general ability in English?
The population of this study consisted of all first -year students majoring in English at Hebron University in the first semester of the academic year 2010/2011. They were 200. The sample of the study consisted of 60 subjects, males and females divided into two groups, one experimental and the other controlled. The researcher followed the experimental method.
The researcher gave the first experimental group five lectures on lexis and syntax while the first controlled group was not given any lecture. The researcher gave the two groups of subjects a post test. The first experimental and controlled groups were given a post test concerns lexical and syntactic knowledge . The post test consisted of two texts followed by twenty questions for each group.
Means, standard deviations and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were calculated by using SPSS program.
The study revealed the following results:
1. There are statistically significant differences in performance in reading comprehension between subjects who have lexical and grammatical knowledge and those who do not have any knowledge.
2. There are no statistically significant differences in performance in reading comprehension between male and female subjects who have lexical and grammatical knowledge and those who do not have any knowledge.
3. Subjects' GAE revealed that there are statistically significant differences in performance in reading comprehension between subjects who have lexical and grammatical knowledge and those who do not have any knowledge.
In the light of the results of the study, the researcher recommends the following:
1- Teachers of English language should give more attention to lexical and grammatical knowledge as the two main factors in improving reading comprehension.

This study analyzes the association of noise pollution level with systolic and diastolic blood pressure andheart pulse rate of workers in hospitals in the operating rooms (OR), neonatal intensive care units(NICU) and intensive care units (ICU). The sound pressure level (SPL) values in all studied hospitals arehigh compared with the recommended value which is 45.0 dB(A) in the daytime.The arterial blood pressure (Systolic SBP and Diastolic DBP) and heart pulse rate (HPR) were measuredfor 95 workers (55 males and 40 females) which is the sample of workers in hospitals in Nablus city.The ages of workers are ranged from 20 to 73 yr. The duration of employment of those workers in thecurrent job is ranged from 1 to 47 yr. In this study SBP, DBP and HPR are correlated positively (Pvalue< 0.050) with the occupational noise levels in all studied hospitals. Whereas the Pearsoncoefficient correlation (R) values of SBP, DBP and HPR in all selected hospitals are ranged from 0.546to 0.906 of SBP, from 0.617 to 0.799 of DBP and from 0.658 to 0.869 of HPR. Moreover, this studyshowed that there are significant shifts in mean values of SBP, DBP and HPR before work and after 5hours at least in all selected hospitals. Significant correlation was found between mean values of SBP,DBP and HPR with the duration of employment and age. Whereas the difference between means of SBP,DBP and HPR before and after work are 6.34 (mmHg) of SBP, 5.11 (mmHg) of DBP and 5.31(beat\min) of HPR.

The effects of a uniform magnetic field on the phase diagram of the dipolar Heisenberg model with a dominantantiferromagnetic exchange interaction have been investigated.The model consists of a square lattice of classical spin vectors, where the spins interact through an antiferromagneticexchange interaction of strength J, a magnetic surface anisotropy of strength k, a dipole-dipole interaction ofstrength g and couple to an applied field of strength H. In this study the applied field is assumed to be perpendicularto the plane of the lattice. From extensive Monte Carlo simulations, representative magnetic phase diagrams havebeen determined as a function of the ratio's k, and T/g, where T is temperature, and at three different ratios of H/g(H/g=10,~20,~27). These results are compared to the previously investigated case of H/g=0 and to analyticcalculations for the ground state energies. The nature of the equilibrium phases and order of the phase boundariesseparating them are considered and changes due to the strength of the applied field are highlighted.

This study reports the relationship between occupational noise level with arterial blood pressure (systolic anddiastolic), and heart pulse rate for sample of doctors (male and female) in their dental offices which was chosenrandomly in Jenin City. The mean age of the sample is 40 year. The mean duration of their serving is 13.8 year.Measurements for the noise levels were obtained. The noise level was between (90.5 - 91.7) dB. The arterial bloodpressure (systolic and diastolic), and heart pulse rate were measured before and after exposure to noise for fourhours. Strong positive correlation (Pearson Correlation Coefficient) was found for all of the measured variables. Themean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart pulse rate for the experimental sample are correlated positivelywith the noise pollution level (R= 0.629 for systolic, R=0.475 for diastolic), and for heart pulse rate (R= 0.560). Thisstudy showed that there are significant shifts in mean values of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, andheart pulse rate before work and four hours after work. The systolic blood pressure mean for the experimentalsample is increased by 4.4 mm-Hg, while the diastolic blood pressure mean is increased by 3.8 mm-Hg, the heartpulse rate mean is increased by 3.6 beat/min. In addition, significant interactions were found between mean valuesof arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), heart pulse rate, doctors' ages, and duration of serving year.Email addresses

Electrochromic films of NiO & NiO-TiO2 (with Ti concentrations 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 & 30%) have been prepared bythe sol-gel route using dip coating technique onto fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated glass substrates (FTO/glass).Ethanolic sols from nickel acetate tetrahydrate (Ni(CH3COO)2•4H2O) and titanium isopropoxide precursors wereused in the preparationsd. The nano-sized films were sintered in air between 250 and 300°C. Characteristics ofdifferent films were studied in a comparative manner. Photoluminescence spectra, UV/Visible spectra,electrochromic behavior, cyclic voltammetry, XRD and SEM have been investigated.Typically, as the TiO2 content was increased, film characteristics were enhanced. Then mechanisms of colorationand morphology transformation of the layer during cycling in 0.05 M KOH electrolyte are discussed in terms of anactivation and degradation period. Finally, a used type of electrolyte based on KOH mixed with starch has been alsotested with complete windows.

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of zincblende of Al1-xVxP alloys with concentrations x (0,0.25,0.5,0.75 and 1) have been studied using full-potential linearized augmented plane method (FP-LAPW) withlocal spin density and generalized gradient approximations ( LSDA and GGA) for the energy and the exchangecorrelation potential, we calculate the lattice parameters, bulk modulus, pressure derivative, band gap and the totalmagnetic moment for zincblende of Al1-xVxP and we got good results in comparison with experimental andtheoretical results.

The structural properties of ScN compound in the rocksalt phase (RS) have been calculated using the full potentiallinearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the local density (LDA), Predew-Burke- Ernzerhof(PBE-GGA),WU- Cohen (WC-GGA) and Engel –Vosko (EV-GGA) approximations.The influecce of electroncorrelation, has also been considerd in calculating the electronic struture of RS-ScN within LDA+USIC, PBEGGA+USIC,WC-GGA+USIC and EV-GGA+USIC approximation. For the system of interest, the calculations, showthat EV-GGA and PBE-GGA approximations give more accurate values for lattice parameter (a0) and Bulkmodulus (B0) than LDA and WC-GGA approximations. The calculations also show that EV-GGA+USICapproachimproves the description of electronic structure of RS-ScN than LDA+USIC, WC-GGA and PBE-GGA methods.The energy band gap of RS-ScN within EV-GGA+USIC scheme is found to be 1.09 eV. This value is in excellentagreement with experimental value of 0.8-1.6 eV.

We present first-principle calculations of the structural and electronic properties of rock salt, cesium chloride andzincblende of EuTe compound. The computational method is based on the full potential linearized augmented planewave method (FP-LAPW). The exchange and correlation energy is described in the generalized gradientapproximation (GGA) and the local density approximation (LDA). We have investigated the lattice parameter, bulkmodulus, pressure derivative, band gap and the transition pressure for EuTe . The results obtained are in goodagreement with theoretical and experimental values.

Background: Cancer is the third leading cause of deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territories accounting forabout 10% of total deaths. Despite its importance, little research has been devoted to characterization of incidencerates and geographic variations. Differences in risk factors, socioeconomic status and access to medical services arepossible reasons for the geographic variations in incidence rates. This study compared the incidence rates and somerisk factors of cancer among the six governorates of Northern West Bank and among types of locality (classified asurban, rural, and refugee camps) for the period 2005-2008.Methods: Crude and age-adjusted incidence rates (and 95% CI) were calculated using cancer data obtained from theregistry files of three hospitals in Northern West Bank. Negative binomial regression analysis was performed tocompare incidence rate ratios (IRR) among governorates and types of locality while adjusting for age-group, sex,and year of diagnosis. Fisher’s exact test was also employed to test for relationships among cross tabulatedvariables.Results: The lowest overall incidence rate was found in the governorate of Jenin (age-adjusted rate of 45.0 cases per100,000 over the 4-yr period). With Jenin taken as a reference, the governorate of Nablus had the highest incidencerate ratio (3.30) with age-adjusted incidence of 148.1 cases per 100,000. Refugee camps had higher overallincidence rate than urban and rural areas (age adjusted rates of 169.0, 103.2, and 79.3 cases per 100,000 for refugeecamps, urban areas, and rural areas, respectively). Geographical differences were found in the distribution ofpatients with regard to types of environmental pollution, smoking and alcohol consumption, types of stress, andchronic diseases.Conclusion: In Northern West Bank, large differences were found among areas of residence (governorates andlocality types) in incidence of cancer. Geographical differences in risk factors were also found which could explainpart of the geographic differences observed in incidence rates.

Groundwater is the main water resource used for drinking and irrigation purposes in the region. As groundwaterquality assessment is an essential component for its safer use. The aim of this paper is Hydro-geochemicalCharacteristics and evaluation of drinking water quality in Gaza strip .For this study, were collected from 102sample for drinking wells in 2009. Water quality classification was derived through a multitude of diagram methodsand equations. The results of analysis showed that the groundwater was chemical highly enriched with Na+ and Clanindication of seawater intrusion into the aquifer as also supported from the Na-Cl signature on the Piper diagram.Results of this study indicate that the groundwater in the region is mainly of NaCl,CaHco3-and NaHco3-.Resultsreveal that salinity and the major elements concentrations, increase towards groundwater flow. The saline load ofthese waters is in first place controlled by chloride, sodium and calcium concentrations. The spatial changes of ionicratios of rCa2+/(rHCO3- + rSO42-) and the relationship between sodium and chloride in the coastal area in 2009indicate that the aquifer experienced seawater intrusion. study showed that by understanding correlation matrixbetween the chemical elements of drinking water and compared with sea water, we find that there is a strongcorrelation between chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and this was due to seawater intrusion. The geochemicaldata, presented in the form of GIS-based geochemical maps.Email addresses: