Mazin Qumsiyeh

• PhD
• Professor at Bethlehem University

The ongoing 2023 Israel-Hamas War has severe and far-reaching consequences for the people, economy, food security, and environment. The immediate impacts of damage and destruction to cities and farms are apparent in widespread reporting and first-hand accounts from within the Gaza Strip. However, there is a lack of comprehensive assessment of the w...

This study reports noteworthy data records on 23 species belonging to 19 families of vascular plants from the West Bank (occupied state of Palestine). For 15 uncommon/rare species, the newly collected data meaningfully extend their range: Saccharum spontaneum, Cyrtomium falcatum, Eleocharis palustris, Crypsis factorovskyi, Coincya tournefortii, Med...

The situation in Palestine is of concern where global threats of climate change, overexploitation, habitat destruction, invasive species, and pollution are compounded by occupation and conflict. Thus, almost 1/3 rd of vascular plant species are rare and over 50 are listed as endangered or rare based on their abundance and presence in grids studied...

Background: Scorpionism (scorpion sting envenoming) is an endemic public health concern in many Arab Middle Eastern countries. However, our knowledge of the epidemiology of scorpion stings in the West Bank is limited. Aim: To investigate the epidemiology of scorpion stings in 4 districts of the West Bank over a specified period. Methods: We ob...

The Protected Area Network (PAN) in Palestine has undergone a comprehensive evaluation and revision to ensure its effectiveness in conserving biodiversity. This re-evaluation was necessary as the previous PAN lacked clear rationale and included areas designated for non-biological reasons. The evaluation process involved analysing the 50 areas in th...

Thirteen species belonging to eight families of vascular plants are hereby reported as new and noteworthy records from the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank. While reported elsewhere in Palestine, many provide range extensions south and it is relevant to report them here as Palestine is now recognized as a state within the 1967 bord...

Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources are difficult to manage in light of global and local threats ranging from climate change to Israeli colonization activities. Yet there is increased national awareness of the need to tackle the threats while also engaging in resistance and simple survival activities (sumud). We also...

ABSTRACT Palestine is part of the Fertile Crescent and known to be rich in faunal and floral biodiversity relative to its latitude.The South Jerusalem hills with their ancient villages (collectively called the Al-Arqoub cluster) provide ideal areas forconservation within the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot. The area was listed on an emergency ba...

The Palestinian environment suffered from abuse and neglect for decades. As a nascent state, Palestine aspired to protect and restore its environment, in line with international standards and conventions. Yet, many challenges remain, including a lack of data, the science–policy–practice gaps, and the lack of sovereignty. The management of protected...

Vernal pools as temporary wetlands can harbor unique and interesting fauna and flora and are deserving of protection especially when urban expansion, climate change, and other human induced changes threaten them. A small vernal pool near Jinsafut and located in the buffer zone of a protected area of Wadi Qana was noted to have unique fauna and flor...

We thank two anonymous reviewers who helped edit and made suggestions to this manuscript. Abstract Research on chromosome evolution accumulated in the past three decades that seems to validate the hypothesis postulated that chromosome changes that increase or decrease of chromosome number are adaptive partly because they increase or decrease in var...

Palestinian areas face the same stresses on floral biodiversity as other areas (desertification, climate change, urbanization, rapid population growth, industrial development, etc.) but face additional threats such as local Israeli colonial activities (building infrastructure, colonial settlements, population displacement). Much work remains to be...

There has been increased interest in urban gardens and small botanical gardens as sites for conservation of plants especially in developing countries. This was highlighted by the fact that most countries failed to meet the CBD Aichi 2020 targets and will now restructure to address the post-2020 CBD framework. The situation in Palestine is of concer...

Traditional communities have wide knowledge and experience of wild plants as natural resources that have historically been important for food, medicine, spiritual and hygienic uses. These communities have over generations developed knowledge, skills, beliefs and practices related to the natural environment that they are a part of. This type of know...

The invasive Common Myna Acridotheres tristis was first reported as an escape and breeding in one locality in the eastern Mediterranean region in 1997. In the 23 years since it has quickly spread to other regions. Here we report on localities it reached in the West Bank. From the spread of records and from earlier observations we conclude that this...

A total of 79 species of local vertebrates (birds, mammals and reptiles) are found to be in illegal trade in the West Bank, Palestine during 2013-2020. Data were collected from visits to the animal markets in the main cities of the West Bank (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah and Salfit) and from advertisements in social media. Bi...

The rich biodiversity of Palestine is due to geographic and geologic factors and is directly related to why it formed the Western part of the Fertile Crescent where humans first domesticated animals and plants. In this chapter, we review and discuss (1) some of the data known on biodiversity in Palestine, (2) threats to this biodiversity (focusing...

Literature data and new records of members of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories were reviewed and updated with field data. Using data from the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH), data from fellow botanists, and the Biodiversity databases (BioGIS and GBIF), the distribution patterns were analyzed with th...

In February, Mycotaxon added a new annotated species distribution list to our 135 previously posted free access fungae. The 23-page "Macrofungi from the Hebron and Jerusalem Hills of Palestine" by Maximus Thaler, Aysha Al-Wahsh, Alea Meuser, Alyssa Rooks, and Mazin Qumsiyeh may be downloaded from our website via http://www.mycotaxon.com/mycobiota/i...

Eighteen molluscan and echinoderm elements comprising eleven Bivalvia, three Gastropoda, two Cephalopoda and two Echinoidea are described from a marl bed outcropping in the northern part of Beit Ummar, Hebron District, Palestine. This fossil community belongs to the Middle Cenomanian time and is similar to nearby macrofaunal assemblages in the East...

This is the first report of the invasive Western conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemiptera, Coreidae) from the Palestine geography representing its southern-most record in Asia. The record is from Wadi Al Makhrour, a valley considered as a key biodiversity area (KBA) and a UNESCO World Heritage site. L. occidentalis is a...

Monitoring natural resources in protected areas: developing biodiversity indicators in and around protected areas in East- and West Africa and the Middle East • The Convention on Biological Diversity and other conventions recommend the development of indicators as a key tool for monitoring the imple- mentation of National Biodiversity Strategies a...

Monitoring is important in ensuring that we keep track of trends in utilisation and restoration. Monitoring natural resources in protected areas: developing biodiversity indicators in and around protected areas in East-and West Africa and the Middle East

This is the first documented record of a bat ensnared by a plant in the Arab world. Kuhl's pipistrelle, Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817), was caught on the Holy Hawksbeard, Picris altissima L. Delile, in Bethlehem, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank).

We surveyed and identified species of lady beetles from the West Bank to document their geographic distribution and understand their ecological significance. This study documents the presence of 35 species of Coccinellidae in 19 genera belonging to 10 tribes and 6 subfamilies. Seven species (mostly very rare), out of the 35 documented, are recorded...

A total of seventeen species of the order Mantodea were recorded from the Pal-estinian Territories belonging to five families (Empusidae, Eremiaphilidae, Manti-dae, Tarachodidae and Toxoderidae) and thirteen genera (Ameles, Blepharopsis, Empusa, Eremiaphila, Eremoplana, Holaptilon, Iris, Mantis, Microthespis, Mioman-tis, Pareuthyphlebs, Rivetina, a...

Cytogenetic data in acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia are important for diagnosis, therapy design, and prognosis. This is the first report of a series of cytogenetic studies on patients with acute leukemia from central Palestine compared with data from other geographic areas. Cytogenetic analysis was done on 45 patients with a...

This project was performed with funding and supervision from the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme (UNDP/GEF/SGP) by the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) and the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) at Bethlehem University (BU) and with collaboration and consultation with the Environmental Qualit...

Distributional and ecological data were given to all rodents of Jordan. The rodent fauna of Jordan consists of 28 species with 20 genera in eight families (Cricetidae, Dipodidae, Gliridae, Hystricidae, Muridae, Myocastoridae, Sciuridae,and Spalacidae), including four introduced species.Keys for families and species were provided, along with diagnos...

Background Electronics waste is solid waste that accumulates because of the short lifespan of many types of electronic equipment. Most electronics waste ends up in landfills, whereas some is recycled. In the occupied Palestinian territory, the village of Idhna in the Hebron District is a large site for recycling electronics waste (much of this wast...

The diversity of the terrestrial snails of the Palestinian Territories was presented with a total of 42 species in 26 genera representing 15 families. Families Enidae and Hygromiidae had the highest number of species, while eight families were represented by only a single species. Species association was analyzed, and the biogeographical affinities...

We report on the collection of grasshoppers and locusts from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) studied at the nascent Palestine Museum of Natural History. Three hundred and forty specimens were collected during the 2013–2016 period. Forty species belonging to four families and ten subfamilies are recorded from various habitats. This is a r...

Unprecedented environmental challenges require new tools. Knowledge based on scientific research is critical for the creation of environmental awareness and education in order to bring about behavioural changes in society at large. Well-structured museums and botanical gardens in developing countries can play significant roles in research, educatio...

Distributional data for 36 species belonging to 13 families are presented for the reptiles of the Palestinian Territories. Scientific names were updated based on recent literature. This is the first account on the reptiles of West Bank (Palestinian Territories) and it addresses also challenges and needs for expanding such studies to serve as initia...

Abstract: The diet of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) was studied in Wadi Al Makhrour, Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories in 201 5 with fresh and several year old pellets. Three species of arthropods, one reptile species, at least four bird species, and six species of mammals were recovered from the studied pellets. Black rat (Rattus rattus) was...

Most Electronic waste (e-waste) ends up in landfills while some is recycled. A major site for e-waste recycling in Palestine is the village of Idhna in the Hebron District and most of this waste originates from Israel. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of e-waste on human DNA damage and chromosome breaks. The test sample was 4...

Butterflies were collected from 49 localities in the occupied West Bank of Jordan (Palestinian Territories). Fifty-four species were identified belonging to five families (Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae, and Nymphalidae) during 2013-2015. The three most common butterflies observed and collected were the small White Pieris rapae, th...

Butterflies were collected from 49 localities in the occupied West Bank of Jordan (Palestinian Territories). Fifty-four species were identified belonging to five families (Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae, and Nymphalidae) during 2013-2015. The three most common butterflies observed and collected were the small White Pieris rapae, th...

This study contributes to the taxonomy and distribution of the freshwater snail fauna in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A total of 10 species of freshwater snails belonging to five families (Neritidae, Melanopsidae, Lym-naeidae, Physidae and Thiaridae) in seven genera (Galba, Haitia, Lymnaea, Melanoides, Melanopsis, Pseudoplotia and Theodoxu...

The distribution of four species of amphibians (Bufotes variabilis, Pelophylax bedriagae, Hyla savignyi / H. felixarabica, and Pelobates syriacus) are given in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank are recorded. Karyotypic data on Bufotes variabilis (2n=22) and Pelophylax bedriagae (2n=26) are reported.

Our data showed that in the 1960s/1970s some 31 species of mammals and 78 species of birds were present in the area of the Bethlehem governorate, between Bethlehem and Deir Mar Saba. Comparison with observations done in 2008-2013 showed significant declines in vertebrate biodiversity in this area, which has increasingly become urbanized, with an in...

In this paper we, report the first karyotypic data on Nebo hierichonticus (Simon 1872) from the occupied Palestinian territories. The karyotype consists of 50 chromosomes which appear acrocentric except for pair 3, likely representing the XY. With additional data on scorpionidae coming through, we suggest that a model of chromosomal evolution might...

Genetic causes account for roughly 15% of male infertility in most Western countries. Klinefelter Syndrome and submicroscopic deletions on the Y chromosome involving AZF region are the most common genetic causes of male infertility associated with azoospermia and oligozoospermia. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of chromosomal aber...

Many industrial byproducts are genotoxic agents that induce cytogenetic changes and DNA damage. Bruqeen, a Palestinian village in Salfit district in the northern West bank, is subject to industrial waste products coming from Barqan Israeli industrial settlement. We evaluated the extent of chromosomal breaks (Csb) and DNA damage induced to human cel...

Seven species were collected from several habitats in the West Bank, namely Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus crassicauda, Compsobuthus werneri, Orthochirus scrobiculosus, Hottentotta judaicus, Nebo hierichonticus, and Scorpio maurus. Karyotypic data on Leiurus quinquestriatus (2n=22), Hottentotta judaicus (2n=16), and Scorpio maurus fuscus (2n...

Seven species were collected from several habitats in the West Bank, namely Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus crassicauda, Compsobuthus werneri, Orthochirus scrobiculosus, Hottentotta judaicus, Nebo hierichonticus, and Scorpio maurus. Kary-otypic data on Leiurus quinquestriatus (2n=22), Hottentotta judaicus (2n=16), and Scorpio maurus fuscus (2n...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas Tech University, 1986. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-98).

In routine Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) men with severe oligozoospermia or azoospermia should be informed about the risk of de novo congenital or chromosomal abnormalities in ICSI program. Also the benefits of preimplantation or prenatal genetic diagnosis practice need to be explained to the couple. From a routine ICSI attempt, using ejac...

The Cancer and Leukemia Group B has performed central review of karyotypes submitted by institutional cytogenetics laboratories from patients with acute myeloid (AML) and acute lymphoblastic (ALL) leukemia since 1986. We assessed the role of central karyotype review in maintaining accurate, high quality cytogenetic data for clinical and translation...

Routine cytogenetic investigations for ovarian cancers are limited by culture failure and poor growth of cancer cells compared to normal cells. Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH) application or classical comparative genome hybridization techniques are also have their own limitations in detecting genome imbalance especially for small changes...

We detected a unique de novo complex chromosome rearrangement (CCR) in a patient with multiple abnormalities including growth retardation, facial anomalies, exudative vitreoretinopathy (EVR), cleft palate, and minor digital anomalies. Cytogenetic analysis, fluorescent in situ hybridization, and microsatellite genotyping showed a reciprocal transloc...

RET/papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a marker for papillary thyroid carcinoma, but its specificity has been questioned because of the disputed identification of RET/PTC in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), oncocytic tumors, and other thyroid lesions. The objective of this study was to determine 1) whether RET/PTC occurs in nonneoplastic follicular cel...

We investigated the relative prognostic significance of cytogenetics in 635 adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients 60 years of age or older treated on front-line protocols. Classification trees and tree-structured survival analysis (TSSA) were used to identify important cytogenetic groups, and their prognostic significance was then assessed in...

We developed a CytoAccess laboratory management system based on the widely used Microsoft Access software to facilitate data processing, result reporting, and quality management for a full-service cytogenetics laboratory. The CytoAccess system consists of four functional modules. The data entry module is for logging in patient information. The resu...

CONTEXT: RET/papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a marker for papillary thyroid carcinoma, but its specificity has been questioned because of the disputed identification of RET/PTC in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), oncocytic tumors, and other thyroid lesions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine 1) whether RET/PTC occurs in nonneopl...

The diversity and conservation of bats in Jordan were reviewed based on field work and specimen collections. The bat fauna of Jordan consist of 24 species. Zoogeographical affinities of the bats of Jordan are reviewed. Threats to and human impact on current populations are discussed. Recommendations for implementing conservation measures and future...

Cytogenetic analysis of spontaneous abortion samples can be limited by culture failure. Failure to grow in vitro has traditionally been suspected to be due to in vivo death of tissue associated with spontaneous abortion (SAB) or simply technical factors of growth in culture. We used array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) to investigate...

We describe a case of natural killer (NK) cell lymphoma/leukemia with only an interstitial deletion in the short arm of chromosome 12 as the primary event. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that the ETV6 locus (12p13) and subtelomeric sequences are not deleted in the process. The p27/kip1 locus (12p12-13), a candidate tumor suppressor gen...

Additional file containing corrected tables 1 and 2

Array-based copy number analysis has recently emerged as a rapid means of mapping complex and/or subtle chromosomal abnormalities. We have compared two such techniques, using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays in the evaluation of a 45-year-old woman with dysmorphic features, mental retardation, ps...

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of exogenous expression of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) on the lifespan, growth characteristics, and tumorigenicity of normal human ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells. Low-passage primary cultures of normal human OSE cells were transfected with hTERT and the resulting cell lines...

To assess cytologic and cytogenetic abnormalities following round spermatid injection. Prospective analysis. In vitro fertilization centers. Fourteen couples accepted to a round spermatid injection (ROSI) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) program after appropriate counseling. ROSI, PGD, with fluorescence in situ hybridization for chromoso...

Obtaining primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) for in vitro studies is limited by the scarcity of adequate human material and the inability to passage these cells in culture for long periods. Immortalization of these cells would greatly facilitate studies; however, the process of immortalization often results in abnormal karyotypes and a...

The World Health Organization recently recognized a family of neoplasms showing at least partial morphological or immunohistochemical evidence of a putative perivascular epithelioid cell (PEC) differentiation. These tumors include angiomyolipoma (AML), clear cell "sugar" tumors of the lung (CCST), lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), clear cell myomelan...

We report a case of ring chromosome 6 presenting with growth and mental retardation, cerebral dysgenesis, eye malformations, mixed hearing loss, and abnormal physical features. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and microsatellite genotyping demonstrated segmental deletions of less than 6 Mb on 6p and 1-2 Mb on 6q. The primary karyotype is de...

Presence of the balanced translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32) and the consequent overexpression of cyclin D1 found in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has been shown to be of important diagnostic value. Although many molecular and immunohistochemical approaches have been applied to analyze cyclin D1 status, correlative studies to compare different methods for...

We examined cytological and cytogenetic parameters of 1076 oocytes and 385 zygotes that failed to develop post in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Out of 1076 oocytes, 894 (83%) arrested oocytes showed a first polar body and were thus assumed arrested at metaphase II while the remainder showed no polar body. In...

We report two unrelated patients each with two supernumerary marker chromosomes (SMCs) derived from chromosome 15, and thus resulting in partial hexasomy. Hexasomy in the one case (family 1) was diagnosed at prenatal diagnosis and did not include the Prader-Willi/Angelman critical region (PWACR). The double SMCs were also found in the mother, the p...

We describe here the development of a murine system for the identification of genes involved in myelomonocytic neoplasms. Transgenic C57BL/6J mice expressing SV40 early region under a myelomonocytic promoter develop histiocytic sarcomas with a latency of 167 days. We used retroviral proviral tagging to accelerate tumorigenesis and to uncover geneti...