Research Title: Hypothalamic neuroinflammation induced by obesity and the effect of Liraglutide

Author: Nour Ratib Batarseh, Published Year: 2022

Journal of advanced phamacy education & research , 12

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Recently, significant attention has been given to the effects of obesity-inducing neuroinflammation on the hypothalamus, particularly the activation of glial cells and neurodegenerative sequences. Understanding how high-fat diets provoke neuroinflammation is essential to propose preventative or management strategies combined with medication interventions such as liraglutide. Scientific studies related to obesity and high-fat diet (HFD) in adult humans and rodents and published in PubMed, Science Direct, and ClinicaTrials.gov in the past ten years have been reviewed. The focus has been placed on studies (A) investigating HFD and obesity effects on neuroinflammation and glial cell activation. (B) The effect of liraglutide intervention on neuroinflammation induced by obesity in the hypothalamus. A total of 90 articles fit the inclusion criteria and were included. Findings revealed that induced obesity by HFD is associated with neuroinflammation in the hypothalamus, specifically microglial activation and oxidative stress, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms for this injurious effect are discussed in the review. On the other hand, liraglutide shows promising neuroprotective, antiinflammatory, and anti-apoptosis activities that help manage neurodegenerative diseases. Obesity influences multiple aspects of neuroinflammation in the hypothalamus, including increasing blood-brain barrier permeability, inducing oxidative stress in ER, activating glial cells, and insulin and leptin resistance. It also highlights the consequences of HFD, not only in inducing obesity but also in altering neural integrity. Finally, liraglutide is neuroprotective and limits the initiation of neuroinflammation; therefore, it could be an encouraging therapy for the management of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Gliosis, High fat diet, Hypothalamus, Liraglutide, Neuroinflammation, Obesity

Research Title: The Perceived Social and Physical Effects of Micro-loan Default on Jordanian Women/a qualitative study

Author: Mayada Awad Daibes, Published Year: 2020

Faculty: Nursing

Abstract: The purpose of the study is to determine the social and health impacts of microloan default on women by relying on in-depth interviews with a group of women who have failed to repay their microloans in Jordan. It is evident that defaulting on their microloans is a result of women’s inability to repay those loans from the start. One of the predominant social repercussions of defaulting is the pressure and rebuke that women are subjected to by their family and community, especially when a woman faces prosecution for defaulting on her microloan. These repercussions have in turn led to constraints on women’s mobility and caused damaged to her health and wellbeing. In many cases, such women resorted to emotional eating which consequently developed into obesity or being subject to severe stress caused her physical harm, such as dental damage or hair loss due to vitamin deficiencies. Finally, the study emphasizes the need to tighten regulations and procedures relevant to offering microloans and providing unemployment insurance through the Social Security Administration or the Ministry of Labor.

Keywords: loan; default; women; jordan; micro-loans

Research Title: The lived experience of family members who care for children with cancer: An interpretative phenomenological approach.

Author: Mayada Awad Daibes, Published Year: 2021

European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 52

Faculty: Nursing

Abstract: Purpose This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of family carers in the care of children with cancer. Method A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was conducted, informed by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Fourteen interviews were conducted with family members: mothers (n = 9), grandmothers and fathers (n = 5). Fourteen family carers were voluntarily enrolled from a public children's oncology department in Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the data. Results Three major themes emerged from the data analysis. The first theme was the caring experience, which included three subthemes: changing priorities over time, information given about children's illness, and parents suffering due to treating irritable children. The second theme was the challenges to effective care, which illustrates the most significant challenges faced during caring, including the effects of family relations and emotional support. The final theme was around the support system; family carers found several resources to support them in their children's care, including other parents' experiences with similar diseases, the hospital environment, and their religious beliefs. Conclusions This study informs parents and healthcare providers about the daily lived experiences of family carers. Healthcare providers can fulfil a significant role in giving emotional support and relief to family carers. However, they will need continuous practise to equip them with the communication skills they require to deal with the family carers in these difficult situations.

Keywords: Family carers; Children; Cancer Experience; Phenomenology

Research Title: WHY REPORTING VERBS SELECTION MATTERS IN ACADEMIC WRITING

Author: Abdu Al-Kadi, Published Year: 2022

6th International Conference on Research in Applied Linguistics - ULEAD ICRAL 2022 , Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey

Faculty: Arts

Abstract: This paper highlights how appropriate uses of reporting verbs (RVs) increase the readability of academic work. Besides providing an overview of RVs and their functions in academic writing, it furnishes a list of evaluative potential RVs. These RVs are categorized into positive, negative, and neutral RVs depending on how academic writers use them to convey strong, weak, and neutral positions of arguments. The article encourages authors to examine the wider context of a citation, integrate other authors’ ideas into their writing, and present their evaluation of the cited information persuasively. In addition to suggestions for employing RVs properly, the article suggests underscoring RVs in academic writing courses. As well, journal editorial boards and reviewers would consider the appropriate uses of RV as a criterion of publishable papers.

Keywords: Academic writing, Rhetoric, Reporting verbs (RVs), Journal articles, genre

Research Title: The Nine-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS9-SF): Its Psychometric Properties among Sri Lankan Students and Measurement Invariance across Sri Lanka, Turkey, Australia, and the USA.

Author: Maha Mohammed Wahbi Atout, Published Year: 2022

Healthcare, 10 (3)

Faculty: Nursing

Abstract: The prevalence of internet gaming disorders (IGD) is considerably high among youth, especially with the social isolation imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. IGD adversely affects mental health, quality of life, and academic performance. The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS9-SF) is designed to detect IGD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. However, inconsistent results are reported on its capacity to diagnose IGD evenly across different cultures. To ensure the suitability of the IGDS9-SF as a global measure of IGD, this study examined the psychometric properties of the IGDS9-SF in a sample of Sri Lankan university students (N = 322, mean age = 17.2 ± 0.6, range = 16–18 years, 56.5% males) and evaluated its measurement invariance across samples from Sri Lanka, Turkey, Australia, and the USA. Among Sri Lankan students, a unidimensional structure expressed good fit, invariance across different groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and income), adequate criterion validity (strong correlation with motives of internet gaming, daily gaming duration, and sleep quality), and good reliability (alpha = 0.81). Males and online multiplayers expressed higher IGD levels, greater time spent gaming, and more endorsement of gaming motives (e.g., Social and Coping) than females and offline players. Across countries, the IGDS9-SF was invariant at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, although strict invariance was not maintained. The lowest and highest IGD levels were reported among Turkish and American respondents, respectively. In conclusion, the IGDS9-SF can be reliably used to measure IGD among Sri Lankan youth. Because the scale holds scalar invariance across countries, its scores can be used to compare IGD levels in the studied countries.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019/COVID-19; Internet Gaming Disorder Scale 9—Short Form (IGDS9-SF); university students; factorial structure/psychometric properties/structural validity/validation; cultur*/collectivisti*/individualis*; invariance; gender; game type

Research Title: Antimicrobial PMMA bone cement containing long releasing multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Author: Yazan Mohammad Mashour Al-Thaher, Published Year: 2022

Nanomaterials, 2022 (12), 1381

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) ensued from total joint replacement (TJR) pose a severe threattopatientsthatinvolvepoorhealthoutcomes,severepain,death(inseverecases),andnegative influence patients’ quality of life. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) is frequently used for the prevention and treatment of PJI. This work aims to study gentamicin release from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) incorporated in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement to prolong release over several weeks to provide prophylaxis from PJIs after surgery. Different CNT concentrations were tested with the presence of gentamicin as a powder or preloaded onto carboxyl functionalized CNTs. The different types of bone cement were tested for drug release, mechanical properties, water uptake, antimicrobial properties, and cytocompatibility with human osteoblast cells (MTT, LDH, alizarin red, and morphology). Results showed prolonged release of gentamicin from CNT-loaded bone cements over several weeks compared to gentamicin-containing bone cement. Additionally, the presence of CNT enhanced the percentage of gentamicin released without adversely affecting the nanocompositemechanicalandantimicrobialpropertiesneededforperformance. Cytotoxicitytesting showed non-inferior performance of the CNT-containing bone cement to the equivalent powder containing cement. Therefore, the developed nanocomposites may serve as a novel PMMA bone cement to prevent PJIs.

Keywords: PMMA; bone cement; carbon nanotubes; gentamicin; antimicrobial; cytotoxicity; compression trength

Research Title: Site Selection of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plant using GIS and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

Author: Mohammad Khairi Younes, Published Year: 2022

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 72

Faculty: Engineering and Technology

Abstract: The fast population growth and urbanization has increased the generation of municipal solid waste in Oman. Currently, Oman relies on landfills to handle growing amounts of waste, which has burdened the existing solid waste management infrastructure. This situation calls for establishing incineration plants that can considerably reduce the volume of waste, and can simultaneously produce electricity. However, one of the crucial step in the planning of incineration plant is the selection of appropriate site that can overcome environmental and economic implications and eliminates community dissatisfaction. Therefore, to select optimal site for incineration plant in Muscat and South Batinah governorates, where landfills receives highest waste amounts per day, this research identified eleven criteria that covers the environmental, economic and social concerns. These criteria were processed by combining Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method and Geographical Information System (GIS) software where the suitability of individual criteria were evaluated and then integrated using the weighted overlay analysis to generate a final suitability map for incineration site selection. The final suitability map indicated that only 2% of the land is suitable for setting up incineration plant in the study area, and the most suitable location with adequate area was found in Barka wilaya of South Batinah governorate.

Keywords: Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM); Incineration site selection; Geographic information system (GIS); Waste-to-energy (WTE); Waste management

Research Title: Antimicrobial PMMA Bone Cement Containing Long Releasing Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Author: Raida W. Khalil, Published Year: 2022

Faculty: Science

Abstract: Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) ensued from total joint replacement (TJR) pose a severe threat to patients that involve poor health outcomes, severe pain, death (in severe cases), and negative influence patients’ quality of life. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) is frequently used for the prevention and treatment of PJI. This work aims to study gentamicin release from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) incorporated in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement to prolong release over several weeks to provide prophylaxis from PJIs after surgery. Different CNT concentrations were tested with the presence of gentamicin as a powder or preloaded onto carboxyl functionalized CNTs. The different types of bone cement were tested for drug release, mechanical properties, water uptake, antimicrobial properties, and cytocompatibility with human osteoblast cells (MTT, LDH, alizarin red, and morphology). Results showed prolonged release of gentamicin from CNT-loaded bone cements over several weeks compared to gentamicin-containing bone cement. Additionally, the presence of CNT enhanced the percentage of gentamicin released without adversely affecting the nanocomposite mechanical and antimicrobial properties needed for performance. Cytotoxicity testing showed non-inferior performance of the CNT-containing bone cement to the equivalent powder containing cement. Therefore, the developed nanocomposites may serve as a novel PMMA bone cement to prevent PJIs.

Keywords: PMMA; bone cement; carbon nanotubes; gentamicin; antimicrobial; cytotoxicity; compression trength

Research Title: Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beam using CFRP hybrid system

Author: Ala Taleb Obaidat, Published Year: 2021

European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering,

Faculty: Engineering and Technology

Abstract: This paper presents experimental and numerical study to investigate the flexural behaviour of strengthened RC beams using three CFRP techniques. Considered main variables were CFRP technique, amount of CFRP NSM and rope and cost/increase in strength effectiveness. Results indicate that using CFRP rope and sheet increased significantly maximum load and maximum strain of RC beams. Average increase in strength and maximum strain were 76.3% to 143.5% and 206% to 246% as the control RC beam. Moreover, RC beams strengthened with CFRP rope exhibited strength approximately similar to ones strengthened with CFRP strip. The cost/increase in strength ratio of specimens strengthened by CFRP rope is 61% higher than the ratio of specimens strengthened by CFRP NSM strip. Hence, the specimens strengthened by one layer of CFRP rope is the most economic techniques based in cost/increase in strength ratio even though it exhibited maximum load less than the specimens strengthened with two layers of CFRP rope or strip. CFRP rope was 40% lower than CFRP strip when same strengthening effect was achieved. Finally, complementary to experimental work a finite element model FEM was developed to investigate the flexural behaviour of beam. The FEA model showed somehow good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP); strengthening; reinforced concrete beam; flexure; debonding

Research Title: Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beam using CFRP hybrid system

Author: Ala Taleb Obaidat, Published Year: 2021

European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering,

Faculty: Engineering and Technology

Abstract: This paper presents experimental and numerical study to investigate the flexural behaviour of strengthened RC beams using three CFRP techniques. Considered main variables were CFRP technique, amount of CFRP NSM and rope and cost/increase in strength effectiveness. Results indicate that using CFRP rope and sheet increased significantly maximum load and maximum strain of RC beams. Average increase in strength and maximum strain were 76.3% to 143.5% and 206% to 246% as the control RC beam. Moreover, RC beams strengthened with CFRP rope exhibited strength approximately similar to ones strengthened with CFRP strip. The cost/increase in strength ratio of specimens strengthened by CFRP rope is 61% higher than the ratio of specimens strengthened by CFRP NSM strip. Hence, the specimens strengthened by one layer of CFRP rope is the most economic techniques based in cost/increase in strength ratio even though it exhibited maximum load less than the specimens strengthened with two layers of CFRP rope or strip. CFRP rope was 40% lower than CFRP strip when same strengthening effect was achieved. Finally, complementary to experimental work a finite element model FEM was developed to investigate the flexural behaviour of beam. The FEA model showed somehow good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP); strengthening; reinforced concrete beam; flexure; debonding