An-Najah Staff

Background Hepatitis B and C virus infection is a lead cause of morbidity and mortality among hemodialysis patients. Yet, little research has focused on the morbidity measures of these serious disorders in low and middle income countries. The study aims to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among hemodialysis patients in the West Bank hospitals in Palestine. Methods A retrospective medical records review design was performed for all governmental and private hospitals in the West Bank which provide hemodialysis services for the patients. Data was retrieved from the patients’ medical files and from the computerized health information system in some hemodialysis centers. SPSS software version 16 was used for data entry and analysis. Results In overall, 868 hemodialysis patients attending nine hemodialysis hospitals in the West Bank was recruited. The overall prevalence of hepatitis B virus was found to be 3.8 % (33 cases) with a range from 0.0 % (in Jericho and Qalqelia districts) to 11.8 % (in Bethlehem district). Regarding hepatitis C virus, the overall prevalence was estimated around 7.4 % (64 cases) with a range from 2.9 % (in Nablus district) to 15.9 % (in Qalqelia district). Conclusions Although relatively low prevalence of both hepatitis B and C virus was found in a couple of hemodialysis hospitals, some higher prevalence values urge for the implementation of stricter infection prevention measures and more effective follow up procedures.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimi-crobial potential of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Thym-bra spicata L. (Lamiaceae), Nepeta curviflora Boiss. and Paronychia argentea Lam. (Caryophyllaceae) against six Gram negative bacteria and one Gram positive bacterium. Agar well diffusion method was adopted to examine the antimicrobial activity of all plant extracts being studied. Out of the seven bacterial isolates, a clinical isolate of Proteus mirabilis (II) was the most susceptible one for all the examined plant extracts except for N. curviflora etha-nol extract. Moreover, the ethanol extract of P. argentea exhibited the highest antimicrobial potential against most of the tested bacteria except for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. On the other hand, all investigated ethanol plant extracts displayed antibacterial effect against the other clinical isolate of Proteus mirabilis (I), which showed resistance against the broad spectrum antibiotic Gentamycin. Further more, micro-broth dilution method was used to measure the minimum inhibitory concentra-tion (MIC) of the effective plant extracts. The examined ethanol plant extracts demonstrated higher MIC values than the aqueous extracts ranging from 1.56 to 50 mg/ml. Accordingly, the obtained results form the platform for further phytochemical and pharmacological studies which are invited to purify and characterize the active ingredient (s) of the studied plant species by the future focus on their extracts fractionation in hope of identifying the active components.

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 This paper investigates the use of satellite data for crop area estimation in the northern part of the , . The satellite data were obtained by the SPOT HRV (High Resolution Visible) on . The satellite data were geometrically corrected to the Palestine Grid using 1: 50,000 Israeli topographic maps. The study investigated the ability of SPOT HRV data to produce accurate crop area estimation of the northern part of the that is characterized with small field sizes and complex physical environment. The study area was divided into five strata and training data were selected using field survey, aerial photographs, maps, and interviewing farmers.

The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of prescription compounding by community pharmacists, identify factors that influence pharmacists' decisions to provide compounding services, and evaluate physicians' perspectives on prescribing medications that require compounding.

METHODS:

The study was a cross-sectional survey administered via face-to-face structured interviews with randomly selected community pharmacists and physicians from different areas of the West Bank.

KEY FINDINGS:

Of the 260 community pharmacists who were contacted, 212 agreed to participate in the survey, giving a response rate of 81.5%. Overall, 153 (72.2%) of respondent pharmacists provided compounding services. Compounded prescriptions accounted for 1973 (1.55%) of 126,840 prescriptions dispensed in a typical month. Among the compounders, 112 (73.2%) pharmacists reported that their goal in providing full pharmaceutical care to their patients was the most important motivator. The most frequently reported reason for not providing compounding was 'I do not receive prescriptions that require compounding' by 43 out of 59 (72.9%) pharmacists. A total of 179 out of 220 physicians consented to participate in this study giving a response rate of 81.4%. The majority of physicians (142, 79.3%) did not prescribe compounded medicines. The most important reason for their decision to prescribe compounded medicines was the unavailability of the required dosage forms. The most commonly cited reason for not prescribing them was a lack of trust in the quality of the compounded formulations.

CONCLUSION:

While most respondent pharmacists provide a compounding service this represents only a small percentage of the total volume of dispensed prescriptions. Most responding physicians do not prescribe medications that require compounding because they lack trust in the quality of the compounded formulations.

The reuse of treated wastewater offers opportunities to reduce the demand for scarce potable water resources. Importantly, social acceptance poses a barrier to the effective use of this resource should the concept not be comprehensively presented. This research highlights the potential for reuse of wastewater, identifies the areas of concern and examines the most important factors that affect wastewater reuse in the West Bank, Palestine. The most important factors considered are social, religious, economic, health, political, freshwater scarcity and institutional framework. It is found that traditions have negative effect on the acceptance of wastewater reuse. The psychological factor is negatively affecting the opinion of the community. Public awareness is weak and the information provided is not sufficient. The research will contribute to the improvement of the environment and sustainable development of the West Bank and proposes guidelines for a strategic plan for wastewater reuse.

A study of tinea capitis was carried out during the period January-June 1996 in 7525 primary schoolchildren aged 6-14 years comprising 4050 boys and 3475 girls in the Nablus district in the Palestinian area. Fourteen primary schools located in rural, urban and refugee camp areas were surveyed in this study. Seventy-five (1.0%) mycologically proven cases of tinea capitis were detected. The incidence was higher in schools in rural areas (1.9%) than in refugee camps (1.1%) or urban areas (0.4%). Also, the incidence was higher in young children (1.4%) aged 6-10 years than in older children (0.5%) aged 10-14 years. Boys 52 (1.3%) were more commonly affected than girls 23 (0.7%). Higher disease incidence was found to be correlated with larger family and class sizes. Trichophyton violaceum was the most common aetiological agent (82.7%) followed by Microsporum canis (16%) and Trichophyton schoenleinii (1.3%). The findings are discussed in relation to the children's different socioeconomic and hygienic backgrounds. A mycological investigation carried out on 117 tinea capitis cases at a clinic in the area under study showed similar results to those of the school survey.

This study was done to investigate the prevalence of Oestrus ovis of Awassi sheep herds in the northern region of West Bank (Palestine). A slaughterhouse survey was performed from March 2006 to February 2007; a total of 335 Awassi heads were examined. Oestrus ovis were found in 181 sheep out of 335 (53. %). The highest rates (P<.05) of infection were in the months of June, July, August and October (77, 80, 82, and 73%, for these months, respectively). The mean percent of larvae (L) in infected sheep heads was 46 with L1, 30 with L2 and 23 with L3. O.Ovis infestation is wide spread in the studied area. Measures must be applied continuously in order to decrease the incidence of the infestation on local herds. 

A set of established precautions and procedures must be followed to ensure water quality in rainwater harvesting cisterns. In this study, 106 cisterns were sampled and 176 cistern owners were surveyed in the northern West Bank region. It was found that although the nitrate concentration and Total Dissolved Solids (TDSs) readings of the sampled cisterns conformed to Palestinian standards, most cisterns were found to contain fecal coliform, exceeding 8000 cfu/ml in many cases. Cistern owners responses revealed an array of malpractices, which are suspected of leading to this contamination risk. Several remedial actions were proposed to alleviate this condition.