• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2019

The main goal of this study was to determine the genetic diversity among 36 grape cultivars grown in Palestine by using ISSR-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprints. Among the tested primers, 17 produced reasonable amplification products with high intensity and pattern stability. A total of 57 DNA fragments (loci) separated by electrophoresis on agarose gels were detected and they ranged in size, from 150 to 900 bp. Out of these fragments, 55 (88%) were polymorphic and 2 (3.5%) monomorphic. Our results also revealed an average of 3.1 loci per primer. A minimum of 1 and maximum of 10 DNA fragments were obtained (S-17, #820 and #841) and (S-31) primers, respectively. Therefore, the later primer (S-31) is considered to be the most powerful primer among the tested ones. The genetic distance matrix showed an average distance range of between 0.05 and 0.76. The maximum genetic distance value of 0.76 (24% similarity) was exhibited between the (Shami and Marawi.Hamadani.Adi) as well as (Bairuti and Marawi.Hamadani.Adi) genotypes. On the other hand, the lowest genetic distance of 0.05 (95% similarity) was exhibited between (Jandali.Tawel.Mofarad and Jandali. Kurawi.Mlzlz) along with (Shami.Aswad and Shami.mtartash. mlwn) genotypes. Furthermore, the UPGMA dendrogram generally clusters the grape cultivars into eight major clusters in addition to an isolated genotype. Based on these figures, the cultivars tested in this study could be characterized by large divergence at the DNA level. This is taking the assumption that our region has a very rich and varied clonal grape genetic structure.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.98-107
• /
• 2022

The incidence of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and biological and molecular characterization of the Palestinian isolates of ToBRFV are described in this study. Symptomatic leaf samples obtained from Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomatoes) and Nicotiana tabacum L. (cultivated tobacco) plants were tested for tobamoviruses infection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Tomato leaf samples collected from Tulkarm and Qalqilia are infected with ToBRFV-PAL with an infection rate of 76% and 72.5%, respectively. Leaf samples collected from Jenin and Nablus were found to be mixed infected with ToBRFV-PAL and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) (100%). Sequence analysis of the ToBRFV-PAL genome showed that the net average nucleotide divergence between ToBRFV/F48-PAL strain and the Israeli and Turkish strains was 0.0026398±0.0006638 (±standard error of mean), while it was 0.0033066±0.0007433 between ToBRFV/F42-PAL and these two isolates. In the phylogenetic tree constructed with the complete genomic sequence, all the ToBRFV isolates were clustered together and formed a sister branch with the TMV. The sequenced Palestinian isolates of ToBRFV-PAL shared the highest nucleotide identity with the Israeli ToBRFV isolate suggesting that the virus was introduced to Palestine from Israel. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of the biological and molecular characteristics of ToBRFV which would help in the management of the disease.

• Asian review of World Histories
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.231-256
• /
• 2016

This paper presents a case study of the Muslim diaspora through comparative analysis of Islamic tombstones from the Southeast Coast of China under Mongol rule. The locations of the nisbas in the Islamic tombstones are widely dispersed, covering Xinjiang, Transoxiana, Iran, Khorasan, Khwarazm, Armenia, Syria, Palestine, and Arabia. Unexpectedly, we did not find a single named location from India or Southeast Asia. It is well known that notable descendants of distinguished families traditionally produced officials, intellectuals, and wealthy merchants, and surrendered to the Mongols during the war against the Qara Khitai Khanate and the Khwarazm Empire. There were a great number of appointed officials with Muslim names in the Jianghuai (around Lower Yangtze) and Fujian regions. This is consistent with the concentration of epitaphs written in Arabic on the southeast coast of China. The frequent use of the specific tradition of the prophet Muhammad associating the death of the exile with martyrdom in Islamic tombstones in Quanzhou, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou indicates that the Muslims in these port cities eventually established an interregional or diasporic identity of Muslim foreighners whoimmigrated into the region.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
• /
• v.29 no.9
• /
• pp.813-819
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this paper is to present some main economic factors which influence Gaza Seaport. Without direct access to the international market, the Palestinian economy will continue its dependence on Israeli economy mainly in employment, transport facilitation, and international trade. The greatest potential for Palestinian economic growth lies in trade. The port is important for creating new job opportunities, and for enhancing exporting capabilities, which are the most essential elements for development of the Palestinian economy. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exporters additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli Ports or when transit these products to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled area. The public profit for the port is greater than the private profit. Therefore, constructing the port will have a great effect on the Palestinian economy. There are many challenges facing the port, some of them are the political stability, the economies of scale, and Israeli security measures and procedures.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 2023

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance (defined as companies' ownership structure and board of directors' characteristics) on cash holdings in the context of Oman. This study leverages a quantitative panel pooled regression on a dataset of Omani non-financial firms from 2009-2015. The findings of this study are generally in line with the predictions of Agency Theory and Mentoring and Busyness Hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that a large stockholder size has a significant positive relationship with cash holding. Meanwhile, a positive (but insignificant) relationship was also found between institutional ownership and cash holding. Furthermore, state ownership was found to exhibit a significant negative relationship with cash holding. In terms of the board of directors' traits, this study's findings suggest that board sizes have a positive (but insignificant) relationship with cash holding. Furthermore, busy and independent boards were found to have a significant positive relationship with cash holding. The above findings suggest that boards with such traits are less effective in providing oversight on managers' actions, which would then increase Omani non-financial firms' cash holdings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.2549-2554
• /
• 2016

Background: Early detection remains the cornerstone of breast cancer control in terms of outcome and survival. Thus far the only breast cancer screening method proven effective is mammography. The awareness of female health care workers (HCW) about breast cancer prevention is of vital importance, as their beliefs and behavior may have a major impact on other women. This study was designed to assess mammography screening uptake among female healthcare workers at primary healthcare centers, and to identify the primary motivators and barriers that affect uptake results. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study design was used to assess mammography screening by 299 female healthcare workers who completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed demographics, screening uptake, motivators and barriers. Results: The mean age was 46 years (within age of risk). The majority (95.1%) demonstrated adequate knowledge about breast cancer and mammography screening and 50% of the participants reported having at least one mammogram; however only 21% of them had regularly scheduled mammograms. The most frequent reported motivator was the perceived benefit that early detection of breast cancer is important for its management (89.6%), followed by the belief that mammography can detect breast cancer before its symptoms appear (84.4%). On the other hand, the most frequent barrier reported was being busy (46.7%), followed by the lack of perceived susceptibility (41.5%). Conclusions: Mammography screening was found to be sub-optimal in a population of HCW's with 50 % stating that they received a mammogram at least once, and a minority reported regular screening. There is a pressing need for educational programs aimed at removing the barriers that limit compliance with recommendations for mammography screening, and to emphasize the importance of early detection in breast cancer treatment. Ensuring the availability and accessibility of screening services, particularly for healthcare workers within their work settings are other important factors that would improve the acceptance and compliance for mammography screening programs.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.7-25
• /
• 2013

For the Palestinians, what is the impact of the Arab Spring? The revolution not only dislodged Mubarak from the presidency, but also changed Egyptian policy regarding Palestinians in Gaza. New Egyptian diplomacy has encouraged Hamas and Fatah, which had been in dispute, to seek reconciliation and has loosened the border control on humanitarian grounds. We focus on Palestinian voting attitudes in the wake of the Arab Spring. Despite the vast quantity of literature written about Palestinian politics since the first decade of the millennium, we know little about the determinants of Palestinian attitudes toward the divided governments in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Fatah government, in the West Bank, increased in popularity after submitting a request for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood. In Gaza, the Hamas government lost popularity because of mismanagement but won support through the success of its prisoner swap deal with Israel. However, evaluation of the ruling party does not depend only on one-time events. This research attempts to measure the impact of policy change in Gaza after the Arab Spring. We provide an account of our research on Palestinian attitudes toward the divided governments based on two sets of the original survey data conducted in May 2009 and June 2012. The paper sheds light on Palestinian attitudes and makes clear the effects of "democratization" in the Middle East and the effects of regional context factors on the occupied Palestinians.

• The International Journal of Costume Culture
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.161-174
• /
• 2000

Today's advanced transport and mass media enables people to access easily and frequently to traditional costumes from different countries in the world. Consequently, fashion designers who are fascinated by the variety and beauty of traditional costumes, tend to adapt them to modern fashion design. The continuous study of traditional costumes at such time contains a meaning as a source of inspiration for the creation of a new fashion design. Therefore, among various costumes of the world, this study will focus on the costume of Palestine, that is situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Afria and has exchanged various historical cultures with other cultural regions. It, especially, expects to provide a unique idea in the material modification field of today's fashion design by examining mainly the embroidery ornament which is the most distinctive feature of Palestinian costume. The conclusion was revealed that Palestinian women's costume largely consists of embroidered silk and cotton garments with a V-slitted square panel (gabeh) attached to the chest part. And a variety of luxurious embroidery was employed to emphasize different parts of the dress. These embroideries differ from area to area. Especially the embroidery from Bethlehem was well-known in many places and influenced those of other regions.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.317-328
• /
• 2021

This study aims to determine the factors that affect dividends initiation by initial public offering firms in Malaysia. The ownership structure is examined from a corporate governance theoretical perspective in order to evaluate the impacts of managerial, institutional, and family ownership on the dividend's initiation decision of IPO firms. This study employs a quantitative pooled cross-section of 372 Malaysian IPO companies active during the period of 2002-2013. The number of firms that went public each year varies, thus the pooled cross-section data takes place in this case rather than the panel data. The logistic model was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results revealed that the presence of institutional investors in the ownership structure make it more likely for IPO firms to initiate dividends. On the contrary, the presence of a family ownership structure in IPO companies as the controlling shareholder makes these companies less probable to initiate dividends. Managerial ownership was found to have no effect on the decision of initiating dividends by IPO firms. The findings of this study suggest that the existence of institutional and family ownerships are agency cost mitigators, as these ownership types could prompt IPOs firms to initiate dividends to overcome the agency conflicts.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.89-98
• /
• 2021

Investigations on the dynamic behavior of concrete members, incorporating steel fibers with different aspect ratios, are limited so far and do not covered comprehensively in prior studies. Present endeavor is devoted to examine the dynamic response of the steel fibrous concrete beams and slabs under the influence of impact loading. These members were reinforced with steel fibers in different length of 25 mm and 50 mm. Four concrete mixes were designed and used based on the proportion of long and short fibers. Twenty-four slabs and beams were fabricated with respect to the concrete mix and these specimens were tested in impact load experiment. Testing observations revealed that the maximum dynamic deflection or ductility of the member can be achieved with increasing the fiber length. Structural behavior of the tested structures was predicted using nonlinear finite element analysis with specific material constitutive relationships. Eight nodes plate elements have been considered in the present dynamic analysis. Dynamic fracture energy of the members was calculated and agreement ratio, of more than 70%, was noticed between the experimental and analysis outcomes.