Km Swaileh

• PhD
• Professor at Birzeit University

Honey is a nutritious product that is produced by honeybees. Its nutritional value and genuine quality is of great importance to consumers. The present study aimed at evaluating the physico-chemical properties of Palestinian multi-floral honey from the West Bank. For this purpose, a total of 33 honey samples were collected directly from honey beeke...

Honey is a healthy and nutritious natural product. However, it may contain some natural as well as anthropogenic contaminants that can affect consumer health. The present study was aimed at analysing the content of aflatoxins, nicotine, caffeine and heavy metals in Palestinian multifloral honey. The results indicated the presence of variable amount...

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was applied to assess the potential genotoxicity of wastewater to albino rats. Cluster analysis using the Euclidean distance resulted in two clusters; one includes the control rats and the treated wastewater-injected rats (join at a distance of 0.57). The other one includes the rats injected with the raw wa...

Heavy metal contents in 160 samples of commercially available cow's milk (powder and liquid), dairy products (yoghurt, labaneh and white cheese) and hen' eggs (conventional farms and courtyard farms) were investigated using GAAS. Mean concentrations of metals (µg/g) in milk and dairy samples analyzed ranged between 0.022-0.057 for Cd, ND-0.93 for P...

Activated sludge foaming, a worldwide problem, usually consists of filamentous bacteria occurring predominantly in the mixed liquor. Because of a lack of pure cultures of most filamentous bacteria and the limited amount of characterisation data, molecular approaches were used to investigate dominant filamentous bacterial strains associated with foa...

Heavy metal contents in 160 samples of commercially available cow's milk (powder and liquid), dairy products (yoghurt, labaneh and white cheese) and hen' eggs (conventional farms and courtyard farms) were investigated using GAAS. Mean concentrations of metals (μg/g) in milk and dairy samples analyzed ranged between 0.022-0.057 for Cd, ND-0.93 for P...

This study assesses the effects of the Israeli Segregation Wall on biodiversity and environmental sustainable development in the West Bank, Palestine. Land confiscation, damage to species and soil erosion, together with loss of water resources have all impacted on the Palestinians and deepened their poverty. The paper shows a grim prospect.

Rain harvesting is becoming more common in the Palestinian Territories as a result of drinking water scarcity. Although it might pose serious human health risk, this water is being consumed without treatment in many areas of the West Bank. The present study evaluates the physicochemical and microbial quality of harvested rainwater that is used as p...

Leachate samples from a main, near residential area dump site at Ramallah in the West Bank were assessed for 12 physico-chemical parameters and 12 pathogenic microbes. The results indicate that the environmental pollutants carry health risks to the general public.

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to measure the concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn in muscles and internal organs (liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs) of cattle, sheep goat and poultry sampled from local markets in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority. Mean levels of metals (dry weight basis) during this study were as f...

Wastewater often contains genotoxic substances that can resist different stages of the treatment process. In the present study, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA technology was applied to evaluate the genotoxic effects of wastewater (treated and raw) irrigation on oat plants (Avena sativa). RAPD profiles obtained showed that both treated and raw w...

No abstract available.

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is one of the most successful birds in the urban environment, and has a global distribution. The present study aims to provide baseline data about metals in sparrows from urban environments in the West Bank and to investigate the possibility of using the House Sparrow to monitor metal pollution in urban environ...

Concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Cr) were investigated in roadside surface soil and the common perennial herb inula (Inula viscosa L., Compositae). Samples were collected at different distances (0-200 m) perpendicular to a main road that connects two main cities in the West Bank. Average concentrations of metals in so...

Metal accumulation by juvenile landsnails, Helix engaddensis, and its effect on growth rate was studied over a 5-week period of exposure and 2 weeks of recovery. An artificial food contaminated with Cu (4-2500 microg x g(-1)), Cd (50-800 microg x g(-1)), Pb, and Zn (20-12500 microg x g(-1)) was used. During the 7 weeks of the experiment, mortality...

Dose-dependent effects of dietary lead and zinc on feeding and growth rates of adult Helix engaddensis snails were studied over a 1-month period followed by a 2-week recovery period. Snails were fed on an artificial diet containing the following lead or zinc concentrations= 0, 20, 100, 500, 2500, and 12,500 microg/g dry food. At the end of the 6 we...

Concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn were determined in roadside soil, plant and landsnail samples along Nablus-Ramallah main road in the West Bank. Average concentrations (microgram.g-1, dry weight) of the four metals in soil samples were, Cu: 23.8, Zn: 128.3, Cd: 0.45 and Pb: 149.9. These values were higher than those found in soil samples collect...

Levels of four trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) were determined in the landsnail Levantina hierosylima from four locations in the West Bank. Average concentration of the metals was 126.9, 42, 20.2 and 19.4 ppm for Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd, respectively. Significant differences in metal concentrations were observed between snails from the four sampling sit...

Removal of copper from polluted water by plant leaves was studied using 15 species. Copper was recovered in variable percentages depending on the species and pH value of the solution. Copper recovery from a 20 mg/L copper solution ranged between 88% (in poplar leaves) and 33% (in oak leaves). For all leaves studied, maximum copper recoveries were f...

MM Al Subu, R. Salim, H. Braik, KM Swaileh Removal of dissolved copper from polluted water using plant leaves. II. Effects of copper concentration, plant leaves, competing ions and other factors Revista Internacional de Contaminación Ambiental, vol. 17, núm. 3, 2001, pp. 123-127, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México México ... How to cite Com...

Effects of dietary cadmium and copper on feeding and growth rates of adult Helix engaddensis snails were studied for a 1-month period. The concentrations of cadmium were 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 microg Cd/g dry food, while those of copper were 0, 4, 20, 100, 500, and 2500 microg Cu/g dry food. Both metals inhibited feeding and growth rates sig...

Seasonal variations in the concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn in soft dry tissues of the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, from Kiel Bay, Germany were studied. Significant monthly variations in the concentrations of the four metals were observed. The two essential metals, Cu and Zn, had their maximum values during the summer months, when the dry so...

The concentrations of four metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn) in the cumacean Diastylis rathkei were estimated from four stations in Kiel Bay, Western Baltic. Metal concentrations in samples from the four stations were not significantly different from each other. Smaller animals were found to contain less Cu and Cd and more Pb and Zn than larger ones. Seas...

The levels of four trace metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the whole soft body and in different organs of the ocean quahog Arctica islandica were evaluated from four stations in Kiel Bay, Western Baltic. The relationships between the contents and concentrations of these metals and body size (weight and length) were also investigated. Double logarithmi...

Heavy metal concentrations in three freshwater snails, an aquatic plant, sediment, and water from Azraq Oasis pools in the Jordanian desert were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. There were significant differences in metal accumulation among snail species. These snails are ranked according to their metal accumulation capacity in the...