Natural Sciences
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- ItemISRAELI OCCUPATION AUTHORITIES ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION SECTOR POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN THE WEST BANK: THE CASE OF NORTHERN DISTRICTS(An-Najah National University, 2025-02-27) Abu Yaqoub, AhmadBackground: The roads and transportation sector in the West Bank, Palestine, has been impacted by the Israeli authorities since occupation in 1967, which radically restructured the sector to serve their colonial interests. This has disrupted accessibility and mobility of the Palestinians. This research uniquely addresses this sector within the Zionist colonial context. Aims: The main goal of the research is to identify the Israeli policies, procedures, and practices concerning roads and transportation in West Bank, and define countermeasures to improve the Palestinians’ ability to travel. The objectives include defining the road network changes made by the Israeli occupation authorities serving the ambitions, assessing their impacts on the Palestinians and the discrimination between Palestinians and settlers concerning transportation issues, and proposing countermeasures to ease the related suffering of the Palestinians. Methodology: Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Collected literature, Israeli plans and military orders, were reviewed. Interviews with official representatives of relevant institutions were conducted. Spatial and technical Analyses were conducted concerning the Israeli policies and practices concerning mobility, accessibility, geometric design, traffic safety, traffic control, and planning of roads, mainly through case studies. GIS tools were well utilized in spatial analysis. Temporal analysis was conducted through change detection analysis. Main results: The research shows that Israeli measures severely restrict Palestinians accessibility and mobility. The results confirm the presence of apartheid policies between the Palestinians and settlers, including those related to planning and constructing bypass roads and limiting their use by Palestinians. It is found that these measures deliberately ignore the mobility, accessibility, and traffic safely aspects for the Palestinians. Such Israeli measures limiting the Palestinians mobility have been intensified in the past few years. Domination over the road network could impact the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. Conclusions of the study: The Palestinian National Authority must take immediate action, including seeking support from international courts and UN institutions. Realistic countermeasures, such as improving connections among Palestinian communities and developing alternative roads, are needed to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians accessibility and movement.
- ItemTOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SEWAGE SLUDGE MANAGEMENT IN PALESTINE(An-Najah National University, 2025-02-27) Abdou, AliSewage sludge management in Palestine faces considerable environmental, economic, and public health challenges due to fragmented governance, technological limitations, and social barriers. The research aims to understand the current state of practice in sludge management in Palestine, assess the sludge's potential for agricultural and energy uses, and determine the possibilities of value-added processing. It also aims to assess the environmental and public health risks associated with the current management practices. By analyzing these factors, the study aims to enhance sludge management and promote resource utilization. The research employed the Governance Assessment Tool (GAT) to evaluate governance structures' effectiveness, coherence, and responsiveness. Data collection included a comprehensive review of the available literature, such as policies, standards, and related literature. Also, stakeholder interviews were conducted, and case studies of wastewater treatment plants in Nablus, Jericho, and Al-Bireh were conducted, along with an overview of the countries in the region. The study also included the best global practices and innovative technologies such as biogas recovery, composting, and hydrothermal carbonization to identify suitable solutions for the local context. The findings reveal some challenges in governance, technology, and public perception. Current governance frameworks are fragmented, with inadequate coordination and enforcement of regulations. Technical issues, including high sludge moisture content and the absence of efficient disposal pathways, also raise operational costs and environmental risks. Sociocultural and behavioral barriers to sludge reuse, including the perception of farmers as opposed to it, also restrict progress. However, the study shows potential for resource recovery, including biogas production and composting, that can decrease reliance on landfills and be compatible with circular economic approaches. To address these challenges, a multifaceted, comprehensive approach is needed. Recommendations include proposing unified governance systems, selecting and implementing advanced treatment technologies, and enhancing stakeholder engagement. Increasing biogas recovery and composting activities is a way of enhancing resource utilization, decreasing costs, and decreasing adverse environmental effects. Public education campaigns and targeted stakeholder engagement are essential to removing socio-cultural barriers and encouraging acceptance of new solutions.
- ItemFACTORS AFFECTING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE IN PALESTINIAN DAIRY INDUSTRIES(An-Najah National University, 2025-02-18) Breaka, GhadaBackground: Food Loss and Waste (FLW) has serious implications for the environment, human health, food security, and resource efficiency worldwide. Eliminating and minimizing FLW may positively improve food security and the environment. Objective: To investigate and analyze the factors affecting the FLW in the Palestinian dairy industries. Methods: The study utilized the FAO methodology developed in 2016, titled "Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions, Case Studies in the Small-scale Agriculture and Fisheries Subsectors" with some customization to fit the local context. Results: Overall, findings revealed that approximately 103.81 tons (0.77% of total production) of dairy products (fresh milk, yogurt, and buttermilk) were lost during the different processing stages. Moreover, about 209.31 tons of the finished product (1.56%) are wasted annually during the transportation and market stage. Large factories had the highest contribution in quantity of FLW compared to other smaller factories. Micro and very small (Mi-VS) factories had the highest FL rate (1.37%). Meanwhile, small and medium (S-M) factories had the lowest FL and FW rates (0.11% and 0.22% respectively). The high FL in Mi-VS small factories is attributed to the use of conventional processing methods. Meanwhile, S-M factories utilize more advanced processing machines and produce lower quantities than large factories, which significantly reduces the FL rate. Large factories had about a 1.63% FW rate of total production. In contrast, Mi-VS factories had around 1.20%. The main causes of dairy FW were expired products, temperature abuse at retail and mishandling-transportation. Across all dairy factory categories, the findings on the factors affecting dairy FLW demonstrated that strong competition and the need to maintain market share are the most significant risk factors. This is coupled with the short shelf life of dairy products and governmental restrictions on their shelf life. Conclusion: More than 313.12 tons of dairy products are lost or wasted annually. The size of the factory, the type of product, and the technology applied during processing, in addition to the limited shelf life and the high competition, had a high impact on the quantity of FLW in local dairy industries.
- ItemINCORPORATING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ADENOSINE WITH TRIS- EGG YOLK AND ANDROMED®DILUENTS USED IN FREEZING SEMEN OF RAMS(An-Najah National University, 2025-01-30) Khaleel , MousaBackground: Cryopreservation of ram semen is a pivotal technique in ovine genetic improvement strategies. It accelerates the transmission of superior genetic material to low-productivity flocks, enables the long-term preservation of valuable genetic resources, and mitigates geographical constraints in artificial insemination programs. However, ovine semen cryopreservation still faces challenges related to quality, as ram sperm cells are particularly vulnerable to thermal stress and oxidative damage during freezing. Adenosine, a purine nucleoside, has been shown to enhance cellular metabolism and antioxidant defense; however, its potential application in ovine semen cryopreservation remains underexplored. Aims: This study aims to elucidate the protective effects of adenosine at different concentrations (0%, 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1%) on sperm motility, viability, thermal resistance, membrane integrity, and morphology throughout the freezing process. Additionally, the study compares the efficacy of Andromed® and Tris-egg yolk extenders in maintaining sperm quality. Methods: Semen was collected from six mature Assaf rams aged 3 to 4 years and diluted with adenosine-enriched Andromed® and Tris-egg yolk diluents. Semen samples were evaluated for motility, viability, thermal resistance, membrane integrity, and morphology at three key stages of the freezing process. The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA to evaluate the effects of adenosine concentration and extender type. Results: Adenosine significantly improved sperm quality at all freezing stages (P < 0.05), with 0.75% yielding the most favorable results. Moreover, Andromed® outperformed Tris-egg yolk in preserving frozen ovine sperm quality (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The incorporation of adenosine into semen extenders, particularly at 0.75%, significantly enhanced the quality of frozen ovine semen. Furthermore, Andromed® proved to be more effective than Tris-egg yolk as freezing extender. These findings provide valuable insights into the application of adenosine in cryopreservation and contribute to improved reproductive efficiency in ovines.
- ItemA COMPARISON OF NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS FOR ONE FREDHOLM INTEGRAL EQUATIONS SYSTEM OF THE SECOND KIND(An-Najah National University, 2025-02-06) Badrien, MohammedThe main goal of this work is to propose various numerical techniques for approximating the solution of a system of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. The methods proposed involve the Chebyshev collocation method, the Haar wavelet method and the reconstruction of the variational iteration method. After reviewing the basic concepts of Fredholm integral equations and addressing the mathematical framework of these numerical methods, we provide some illustrative numerical examples with known exact solution to illustrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of these methods. Numerical results show clearly that Chebyshev collocation method is one of the most efficient method for solving system of Fredholm integral equations in comparison with its counterparts.