Research Title: Quadruplex qPCR for detection and discrimination of C. Coli,C. fetus, and C. Jejuni from other Campylobacter species in chicken and sheep meat

Author: Marwan Abu-Halaweh, Published Year: 2024

Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, 55

Faculty: Science

Abstract: Abstract Campylobacter is gram-negative bacteria considered the predominant genera isolated from poultry samples and associated with gastroenteritis. Due to the problems in conventional cultural methods of time-consuming and technically demanding requirements, a rapid and feasible method for their identification and discrimination of the closely related spp. Including Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter fetus, and Campylobacter jejuni is needed. This study analyzes the chicken and sheep meats samples (n = 125) using culture and pre-enrichment-based Quadraplex real-time PCR by targeting OrfA, CstA, HipO, and 16 S rRNA genes of C. coli, C. fetus, C. jejuni and Campylobacter spp. Respectively. The analysis of 125 chicken and sheep meat samples by culture and real-time PCR showed high concordance between the results of the two methods. The present study show high prevalence of Campylobacter species (35% and 32% from chicken and meat respectively) of which C. jejuni were the most abundant. Reaction efficiencies were between 90 and 110%, and detect as low as 8.9 fg in C. jejuni. The need for quick detection and discrimination methods in sheep and chicken meat can be met using the described Quadraplex real-time PCR methodology.

Keywords: Quadraplex real-time PCR · Campylobacter · Species · Differentiation

Research Title: Parasitology Research (2024) 123:290Vol.:(0123456789) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08296-w RESEARCH Molecular and serological prevalence rates of Neospora caninum infection in dogs from Jordan

Author: Marwan Abu-Halaweh, Published Year: 2024

Parasitology Research, 123

Faculty: Science

Abstract: Abstract Neosporosis is a proven disease of farm animals and dogs caused by Neospora caninum. This cross-sectional study investi- gates N. caninum prevalence and seroprevalence among 268 dogs. Nc5 gene PCR was carried out on dog faeces and confirmed by sequencing. Seroprevalence was detected using an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Three age groups, gender, locality (Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa Governorates), dog type (stray, pet, and breeding), place of living (indoor/outdoor), food type (raw/cooked), having diarrhoea, having abortion in the area, and having animals nearby were tested as independent variables for associations with positivity to N. caninum using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. The true prevalence of N. caninum was 34.3% (95% CI 28.4, 40.5) using the Nc5-PCR test. The true seroprevalence rate of N. caninum among dogs in Jordan was 47.9% (95% CI 41.4, 54.5) using IFAT. The sequenced isolates of Nc5-PCR products (n = 85) matched three N. caninum strains, namely, NcHareGre (n = 70, 82.4%, 95% CI 72.6–89), NC MS2 (n = 14, 16.5%, 95% CI 9.3–26.1), and L218 (n = 1, 1.2%, 95% CI 0.03–6.4). The three strains were isolated previously from three differ- ent countries and continents. N. caninum shedding is associated with abortion among dogs and animals in the area (odds ratio = 3.6). In Amman and Zarqa, living indoors reduced seroprevalence at 0.45, 0.24, and 0.02 odds ratios, respectively. Jordan shares three molecular N. caninum strains with three different countries and continents.

Keywords: Neospora caninum · Dogs · Prevalence · IFAT · PCR · Jordan

Research Title: Penal Liability for the Oil Leak Incident Heavy Fuel in the Jordanian Port of Aqaba and Its Impact on the Environment

Author: Moayd Husni Al-Kawaldah, Published Year: 2023

Faculty: Law

Abstract: Pollution by oil "heavy fuel" poses an environmental problem. Therefore, there must be legal protection through civil and penal liability to combat this. Still, in this research, we will address the penal protection relating to preserving the marine environment in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, Jordan's only water crossing and a source of economic and tourism income for Jordan. The study reached several conclusions and recommendations, the most important of which was: The Jordanian legislator provides in article 54/b of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Act and article 54 ter for penalties applicable to those responsible for pollution of the marine environment, in particular concerning the issue of the oil leak, such responsible must have criminal intent according to the general rules of the Criminal Code. Regarding the recommendations, articles 54/b and 54 make it clear that a penalty must be imposed whether or not there is criminal intent. Also, there must be a gradation of penalty; therefore, I wish the Jordanian legislator to amend article 54/b of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Act and the proposed provision as follows: "If there is pollution in the seawater or the marine environment, whether the criminal intent is available or not, the penalty must be imprisonment for a period of not less than one year and not more than three years or a fine from (2000) JD to (20,000) JD or both penalties if they are for the first time. If they are for the second time or have devastating and persistent effects on the environment, article 54 ter of the same code must be applied and determined by a specialized committee to be determined by the competent court”.

Keywords: environment,oil, heavy fuel,penal liability.penalty

Research Title: مدى المسؤولية الجنائية الناشئة عن إيذاء الجنين في التشريع الجزائي الأردني

Author: Moayd Husni Al-Kawaldah, Published Year: 2024

المجلة الأردنية في القانون والعلوم السياسية/ جامعة مؤته, المجلد 16, العدد 1,

Faculty: Law

Abstract: يُعد موضوع حماية الجنين من المواضيع التي أثارت الكثير من التساؤلات حول مدى كفاية النصوص التشريعية الجنائية في توفير الحماية الجزائية لهذا المخلوق خلال فترة استكانته في رحم أُمه، ابتداء من وقت التخلق وحتى نهاية فترة الحمل. وبالرغم أن المشرع الجزائي الأردني في قانون العقوبات قد أحاط الجنين بالحماية الجنائية، إلا أن هذه الحماية من وجهة نظرنا جاءت منقوصه غير مكتملة حيث قصرها على الاعتداء الذي يقع على وجود الجنين والمتمثلة بجريمة الإجهاض القصدي فقط. أما صور الاعتداء الأخرى- غير الإجهاض - على الجنين وفي أي مرحلة من مراحل نموه وتكوينه أثناء فترة الحمل فإن النصوص القانونية العقابيه قاصره عن حماية الجنين في هذه المرحلة من حياته، مما يجعلنا أمام فراغ تشريعي يحتاج إلى تدخُل من قبل المشرع الأردني لسد هذه الثغره التشريعية.

Keywords: المسؤولية الجنائية، إيذاء، الجنين، التشريع الجزائي الأردني

Research Title: الحماية الجزائية للطفل من الاستغلال الجنسي عبر الألعاب الإلكترونية : دراسة مقارنة بين القانونين الأردني والإماراتي

Author: Moayd Husni Al-Kawaldah, Published Year: 2024

مجلة الدراسات الجامعة الأردنية, علوم الشريعة والقانون , المجلد 51, العدد 4

Faculty: Law

Abstract: الأهداف: هدفت الدراسة إلى بيان مدى الحماية القانونية التي توفرها القوانين الجزائية في الأردن ودولة الإمارات في تحقيق الردع العام والردع الخاص لمجرمي الاستغلال الجنسي للأطفال عبر الألعاب الإلكترونية، باعتبارها من أهم الوسائل التي يستغلها المجرمون لارتكاب هذه الجريمة البشعة والدنيئة ضد أضعف فئات المجتمع. المنهجية: تم اتباع المنهج الوصفي والتحليلي والمقارن؛ فالمنهج الوصفي من خلال دراسة القوانين الأردنية والإماراتية ذات العلاقة بالاستغلال الجنسي للأطفال عبر الألعاب الإلكترونية، والمنهج التحليلي من خلال تحليل تلك القوانين السابقة، والمنهج المقارن من خلال المقارنة بين القانون الأردني والإماراتي، وإظهار جوانب القوة والضعف في كل قانون. النتائج: توصلت الدراسة إلى أنه لم ينص المشرع الأردني على التدابير الضرورية لحماية الأطفال من الاستغلال الجنسي الذي يقع عليهم، على العكس من ذلك، فإن المشرع الإماراتي نص على تلك التدابير لأنها تساهم بشكل مباشر وتعمل بشكل علاجي ووقائي على منع وقوع الاستغلال الجنسي ضد الأطفال. الخلاصة: توصي الدراسة بأنه يجب على المشرع الأردني أن ينص صراحة في قانون الجرائم الإلكترونية الأردني، وكذلك الأمر المشرع الاماراتي في قانون الجرائم الإلكترونية الإماراتي على جريمة هتك العرض الإلكترونية، وكما توصي الدراسة بأن على المشرع الأردني ان يضيف تدابير ضرورية لحماية الأطفال من الاستغلال الجنسي في قانون حقوق الطفل الأردني، كالتي نص عليها المشرع الإماراتي في قانون حقوق الطفل في المادة (54).

Keywords: الطفل ، الألعاب الإلكترونية ، الاستغلال الجنسي، الإنترنت، المواقع الإلكترونية، الحماية الجزائية

Research Title: , Internet Begging: A Comparative Study between Jordanian and UAE Law and International Law

Author: Moayd Husni Al-Kawaldah, Published Year: 2024

Journal of Ecohumanism, Volume 3, Issue 7,p2

Faculty: Law

Abstract: Abstract The aim of the study is to show the extent of the criminal liability of perpetrators of Internet begging who solicit others’ sympathy on social media with the aim of obtaining financial compensation, which is through electronic transfers through various electronic means of payment. This requires a national and international legal action to curb this crime because it is on the rise. This study followed the descriptive, analytical and comparative approach. The descriptive approach is through the study of national laws in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, laws in the United Arab Emirates and relevant international laws. The analytical approach is through the analysis of those previous laws. The comparative approach is through the comparison between the previous laws and the demonstration of strengths and weaknesses in each law. The study found that the UAE legislator was better than the Jordanian legislator when explicitly providing the crime of Internet begging in the Cybercrime Act because this shows the importance of the crime and illustrates its devastating effects on society, but the Jordanian legislator refers this crime to the Jordanian Penal Code, and the perpetrator is punished with a penalty that is more severe than provided by the UAE Cybercrime Act. With regard to the recommendations, I wish the Jordanian legislator to explicitly provide the crime of Internet begging and the proposed provision as follows: "anyone who commits the crime of Internet begging using the means of Information Technology in any form or means shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than three months or a fine of not less than five thousand dinars and not more than ten thousand dinars or both of these penalties."

Keywords: nternet begging Cybercrime Criminally Responsible Social Media Sites

Research Title: Enhanced Sentiment Classification through Ontology-Based Sentiment Analysis with BERT

Author: Mohammad Taye, Published Year: 2025

Journal of Internet Services and Information Security, 15

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: The computerized examination of the feelings and evaluations of individuals concerning an entity or product is known as sentiment analysis, and it is carried out at the document, sentence, phrase, and function ranges. This method is used to accumulate customer remarks on quite a few products and services. Aspect-primarily based sentiment detection equipment deal with the opinions of customers regarding particular product capabilities. Nevertheless, the presentation of these outcomes in a manner this is each effective and concise is a hard project due to the numerous capabilities that a product may additionally possess. A quintessential part of Natural Language Processing (NLP), Sentiment Analysis (SA) makes it feasible to decipher the emotions expressed through humans in written words. Combining BERT with ontology-based totally sentiment evaluation is the focal point of this look at's investigation right into a hybrid technique. We advocate a combined device that makes use of BERT to supply better contextual facts and ontologies as structured lexicons for issue-based totally sentiment evaluation. By combining the electricity of BERT with the advantages of ontology-based strategies, we need to improve sentiment evaluation accuracy and offer more nuanced insights on person evaluations.

Keywords: Ontology, Sentiment Analysis, BERT, Natural Language Processing.

Research Title: Computational Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics to Decipher Natural Compounds of Alchornea laxiflora for Liver Cancer Chemotherapy

Author: Balakumar Chandrasekarn, Published Year: 2025

Pharmaceuticals, 18

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Background: Alchornea laxiflora (Benth.) Pax & K. Hoffm. (A. laxiflora) is utilized as a traditional herb for treating several diseases. Objective: Our study aims to identify the active phytochemical candidates from A. laxiflora and analyses to predict their anticancer activity mechanism by employing network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD). Methods: The phytoconstituents of A. laxiflora were retrieved from the literature, and phytoconstituent-related targets implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were collected from respective databases. Computational methods were employed to recognize essential compounds, hub gene targets, and signaling pathways. Results: Our study has identified 12 potentially bioactive compounds, 150 potential anti-HCC targets, and 15 hub gene targets for A. laxiflora. Molecular docking results recognized the better binding energy values of below −5.6 kcal/mol. Further, MD simulations of the three of the top-scoring protein–ligand complexes (MAPK—3-acetylursolic acid, AKT1—quercetin, and AKT1—3-acetylursolic acid) allowed us to validate the docking results, evaluate the stability of the complexes, and associated conformational changes. Conclusions: Our research claims that phytoconstituents of A. laxiflora are crucial for treating liver cancer, and the recognized protein targets can serve as biomarkers, respectively.

Keywords: Alchornea laxiflora; liver cancer; network pharmacology; molecular docking; molecular dynamics simulation

Research Title: A Green, Solvent- and Cation-Free Approach for Preparing 5-Fluorouracil-Loaded Alginate Nanoparticles Using Microfluidic Technology

Author: Mohammad Bayan, Published Year: 2025

Pharmaceutics, 17

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Alginate nanoparticles (NPs) are commonly synthesised using either an emulsion technique that involves organic solvent use or ionotropic gelation utilising multivalent cations, e.g., Ca+2. However, the extensive use of organic solvents imposes detrimental effects on the ecosystem, and using multivalent cations as crosslinkers could eventually lead to the leakage of these cations, thus disrupting nanoparticle matrices. Therefore, this study aimed to overcome the limitations of these techniques by eliminating the usage of organic solvents and multivalent cations. Methods: In this research, alginate nanoparticles were synthesised using proton gelation by microfluidic technology through protonating alginate carboxylate groups to crosslink alginate chains through H-bond formation. Results: The prepared acid-gelled alginate nanoparticles demonstrated an MHD circa 200 nm and a PDI of less than 0.4 at pH 0.75. Moreover, 5-FU was successfully encapsulated into acid-gelled alginate nanoparticles and displayed a high EE% of around 30%, comparable to the EE% at high alginate concentration and molecular weight (0.4 H-ALG) achieved by Ca+2-crosslinked alginate nanoparticles; however, 5-FU NPs had superior characteristics, i.e., a lower MHD (around 500 nm) and PDI (<0.5). The optimum formula (0.4 H-ALG) was explored at various pH values, i.e., low pH of 4.5 and high pH of 10, and alginate NPs produced by acid gelation demonstrated high stability in terms of MHD and PDI, with slight changes at different pH values, indicating stable crosslinking of alginate matrices prepared by technology compared with Ca+2-crosslinked alginate NPs. Conclusions: In conclusion, this research has invented an ecologically friendly approach to producing acid-gelled alginate nanoparticles with superior characteristics compared with the conventional methods, and they could be harnessed as nanocarriers for therapeutics delivery (5-FU). Also, this research offers a promising approach for developing eco-friendly and biocompatible drug carriers. The produced nanoparticles have the potential to enhance drug stability, improve controlled release, and minimise toxic effects, making them suitable for pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: alginate nanoparticles; 5-FU; microfluidic technology; proton gelation; ecologically friendly; optimum formula

Research Title: Computational and Experimental Insights into the Anticancer Activity of Benzylidene Amino Benzoate Derivatives: A Study Based on Docking, DFT, and In Vitro Assays

Author: Adnan Dahadha, Published Year: 2025

Journal of Molecular Structure,

Faculty: Science

Abstract: Series of benzylidene amino benzoate derivatives were synthesized under mild conditions, chemical structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed through different spectroscopic analysis. Anticancer activity was evaluated against four cancer cell lines (PC3, A549, A2780, and MDA-MB-231). The results showed potent cytotoxic effects with notable selectivity. Compounds 5, 6, 9, and 10 displayed significant activity, with IC50 values ranging from 0.11 µM to 1.37 µM. Molecular docking studies indicated favourable binding affinities for compound 8 toward different tyrosine kinases receptors, with the highest affinity for binding to VEGFR2. This result was consistent with 76.25% in vitro inhibition activity against VEGFR2. Docking simulations revealed that hydrogen bonds could form between compound 8 and the residues Asp 1046 and Lys 868, while electrostatic interactions were observed with residues His 1026 and Glu 885, at the ATP-binding pocket. The compounds complied with Lipinski's Rule of Five, supporting their suitability for further development as orally active drugs. Non-substrate behaviour toward P-glycoprotein was observed for the synthesized compounds, implying they were unlikely to be expelled by this transporter. DFT calculations highlighted important reactive regions within the target compound, particularly around the nitro and ester groups, which participated in hydrogen bonding interactions. Furthermore, FMO suggested versatility in the chemical reactivity. Enhanced inhibition of VEGFR2 by compounds like 5 and 8 was predicted with lower chemical potential and higher electrophilicity indices. Based on these findings, imine compounds should be prioritized for the synthesis of more derivatives and for in vivo studies to enhance their therapeutic efficacy as anticancer agents.

Keywords: Benzylidene Amino Benzoate