Al-Quds University

About: Al-Quds University is a education organization based out in East Jerusalem, Palestinian Territory. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Microemulsion. The organization has 956 authors who have published 1491 publications receiving 34293 citations.

Controversy Secular and Islamist Women in Palestinian Society

Abstract: This article focuses on the multilayered changes in the lives of Palestinian women over the years of the first and second Intifadas. On the one hand, women have become far more actively involved in politics, with a Women's Charter being drafted and legislation concerning women's rights being put on the political agenda. At the same time, the political shift from a Fatah- to a Hamas-dominated government has shifted understandings of whether the state should be secular or Islamist. Paradoxical developments by which Hamas has, on the one hand, fostered women's education and job training opportunities, but, on the other, insisted on women's subordinate legal status, are reflected within the Islamist women's movement. The article discusses the decline in power of the leftist and secular political forces, and the resulting political conflicts between the earlier secular feminist movement and the more recent `Islamist feminism'.

Interactions of Platinum Complexes Containing Cationic, Bicyclic, Nonplanar Piperidinopiperidine Ligands with Biological Nucleophiles

Abstract: The determination of the structures and DNA interactions and the reactions with GSH and ubiquitin of complexes of the general formula trans-[PtCl2(Am)(pip-pip)] x HCl, where pip-pip is 4-piperidinopiperidine and Am is NH3, methylamine (MA), dimethylamine (DMA), n-propylamine (NPA), isopropylamine (IPA), n-butylamine (NBA), or cyclohexylamine (CHA), were performed. X-ray structures and NMR studies of the NH3 and MA complexes showed that both pip rings were in the chair conformation and that the second pip ring is fluxional. The DNA binding studies showed that these complexes bind to calf thymus DNA nearly an order of magnitude more quickly than cisplatin and form covalent adducts that stabilize the double helix. The binding of the pip-pip complexes to DNA results in high unwinding angles (approximately 30 degrees) and in the formation of approximately 25% interstrand cross-links. The pip-pip complexes reacted with GSH more quickly than cisplatin and transplatin, and the rate of reaction decreased with increasing steric bulk of the ligand trans to the pip-pip. The reactions with ubiquitin resulted in monofunctional binding to Met1. Only the NH3, MA, and DMA complexes reacted with ubiquitin in a slower and less efficient fashion than cisplatin.

Dual optimal filters for parameter estimation of a multivariate autoregressive process from noisy observations

Abstract: This study deals with the estimation of a vector process disturbed by an additive white noise. When this process is modelled by a multivariate autoregressive (M-AR) process, optimal filters such as Kalman or H∞ filter can be used for prediction or estimation from noisy observations. However, the estimation of the M-AR parameters from noisy observations is a key issue to be addressed. Off-line or iterative approaches have been proposed recently, but their computational costs can be a drawback. Using on-line methods such as extended Kalman filter and sigma-point Kalman filter are of interest, but the size of the state vector to be estimated is quite high. In order to reduce this size and the resulting computational cost, the authors suggest using dual optimal filters. In this study, the authors propose to extend to the multi-channel case the so-called dual Kalman or H∞ filters-based scheme initially proposed for single-channel applications. The proposed methods are first tested with a synthetic M-AR process and then with an M-AR process corresponding to a mobile fading channel. The comparative simulation study the authors carried out with existing techniques confirms the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Evaluation of the validity of osteoporosis and fracture risk assessment tools (IOF One Minute Test, SCORE, and FRAX) in postmenopausal Palestinian women.

Abstract: The need for simple self-assessment tools is necessary to predict women at high risk for developing osteoporosis. In this study, tools like the IOF One Minute Test, Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), and Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation (SCORE) were found to be valid for Palestinian women. The threshold for predicting women at risk for each tool was estimated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of the updated IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) One Minute Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Test, FRAX, SCORE as well as age alone to detect the risk of developing osteoporosis in postmenopausal Palestinian women. Three hundred eighty-two women 45 years and older were recruited including 131 women with osteoporosis and 251 controls following bone mineral density (BMD) measurement, 287 completed questionnaires of the different risk assessment tools. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were evaluated for each tool using bone BMD as the gold standard for osteoporosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was the highest for FRAX calculated with BMD for predicting hip fractures (0.897) followed by FRAX for major fractures (0.826) with cut-off values ˃1.5 and ˃7.8%, respectively. The IOF One Minute Test AUC (0.629) was the lowest compared to other tested tools but with sufficient accuracy for predicting the risk of developing osteoporosis with a cut-off value ˃4 total yes questions out of 18. SCORE test and age alone were also as good predictors of risk for developing osteoporosis. According to the ROC curve for age, women ≥64 years had a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. Higher percentage of women with low BMD (T-score ≤−1.5) or osteoporosis (T-score ≤−2.5) was found among women who were not exposed to the sun, who had menopause before the age of 45 years, or had lower body mass index (BMI) compared to controls. Women who often fall had lower BMI and approximately 27% of the recruited postmenopausal Palestinian women had accidents that caused fractures. Simple self-assessment tools like FRAX without BMD, SCORE, and the IOF One Minute Tests were valid for predicting Palestinian postmenopausal women at high risk of developing osteoporosis.

Subgenotypes and Mutations in the S and Polymerase Genes of Hepatitis B Virus Carriers in the West Bank, Palestine

Abstract: The mutation rate and genetic variability of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are crucial factors for efficient treatment and successful vaccination against HBV. Until today, genetic properties of this virus among the Palestinian population remain unknown. Therefore, we performed genetic analysis of the overlapping S and polymerase genes of HBV, isolated from 40 Palestinian patients' sera. All patients were HBsAg positive and presented with a viral load above 105 HBV genome copies/ml. The genotyping results of the S gene demonstrated that HBV D1 was detected in 90% of the samples representing the most prominent subgenotype among Palestinians carrying HBV. Various mutations existed within the S gene; in five patients four known escape mutations including the common G145R and D144E were found. Furthermore, a ratio of 4.25 of non-synonymous to synonymous mutations in the S gene indicated a strong selection pressure on the HBs antigen loops of HBV strains circulating in those Palestinian patients. Although all patients were treatment-naive, with the exception of one, several mutations were found in the HBV polymerase gene, but none pointed to drug resistance. The study presented here is the first report to address subgenotypes and mutation analyses of HBV S and polymerase genes in Palestine.