Research Title: Towards Green Driving: Efficient Driving Techniques

Author: Maram Bani Younes, Published Year: 2022

World Electric Vehicle Journal, 13

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: The exponential increase in the number of daily traveling vehicles has exaggerated the global warming and environmental pollution issues. These problems directly threaten the continuity and the quality of life on the planet. Several techniques and technologies have been used and developed to reduce the fuel consumption and gas emissions of traveling vehicles over the road network. In this paper, we investigate some solutions that assist drivers to follow efficient driving tips during their trips. Advanced technologies of communications or vehicle manufacturing have considered enhancing the traffic efficiency over road networks. Besides, several advisory systems have been proposed to recommend drivers with the most efficient speed, route, or other decisions to follow towards their targeted destinations. These recommendations are selected according to the real-time traffic distribution and the context of the road network. In this paper, first different highly fuel consumption reasons and scenarios are investigated over the road networks. Then, the details of efficient driving techniques that were proposed to tackle each case accordingly are reviewed and categorized over downtown and highways. Finally, set of remarks and existed gaps are reported to researchers in this field.

Keywords: Green driving; Road context; Driving Assistance; Traffic situation.

Research Title: Effects of Liraglutide Combined with Normal Fat Diet on Neural and Thermogenic Activities of 5’ - AMPK in the Hypothalamus

Author: Nour Ratib Batarseh, Published Year: 2022

Progress in Nutrition, 24

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: Abstract. Background: Medical nutrition therapy is essential in managing and preventing diseases, and liraglutide plays a critical role in controlling weight and modulating the effectiveness of 5’ AMP-activated protein kinase (5’-AMPK) in the hypothalamus. On the other hand, the neural effects of liraglutide and 5’- AMPK are negatively altered by a high-fat diet (HFD); in addition to that, it remains unclear how normal fat diets combined with liraglutide could counteract the HFD effect. Objectives: To investigate the effects of a high-fat versus normal diet on the neural and thermogenic activities of liraglutide and 5’ –AMPK in the hypothalamus. Methods: We searched the available literature for studies published in PubMed, Science Direct, and ClinicaTrials.gov between November/2020 and January /2021, and we included controlled clinical trials based on the animals’ model issued in the past six years. Findings: A total 101 out of 250 articles were included in our search, and findings revealed that high-fat diets negatively influence liraglutide and 5’-AMPK in the hypothalamus. In contrast, a normal-fat diet could reverse this negative influence if combined with a dose of 1.8-3 mg/kg of liraglutide for up to 16 weeks. Conclusion: High-fat diets counteract the activity of liraglutide and 5’-AMPK in controlling food intake and energy hemostasis in the hypothalamus. Furthermore, we didn’t find adequate studies that examined the effect of combining a normal-fat diet with liraglutide on 5’-AMPK in the hypothalamus; hence, our concern was reviewing and predicting the possible effect of normal-fat diets.

Keywords: liraglutide, hypothalamus, 5’-AMP-activated protein kinase, high fat diet, obesity

Research Title: Pharmacists-physicians collaborative intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy and resistance: A randomized controlled trial.

Author: Asma Ahmad El-Shara, Published Year: 2022

Vaccine X, 100135

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Abstract Purpose: Given their negative influence on community health, vaccine hesitancy and resistance are emerging challenges that require healthcare intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of physician-pharmacist collaborative health coaching on rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: After an initial assessment of rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine was conducted, hesitant and resistant participants were approached, recruited, and randomized into an active and control group. Pharmacists-physicians collaborative coaching intervention was delivered to active group subjects over two months through Facebook live sessions. The outcome measures were assessed in both groups before coaching, directly after coaching, and a month after coaching. Results: The proportions of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine among subjects in the active group were significantly reduced from 64.3% and 35.7?fore coaching to 20.1% and 7.8% directly after coaching, respectively. These proportions were further reduced to 11.1% and 3.3% a month after coaching, respectively. Furthermore, the mean scores for knowledge on, and attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine were significantly increased from 4.6 ± 1.8 and 4.1 ± 1.7 before coaching to 7.5 ± 3.1 and 8.9 ± 3.8 directly after coaching, respectively. However, the change in mean score of beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines among active group subjects was not significant. Conclusion: High rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine were found in Jordan. These rates can be significantly reduced through online pharmacists-physicians collaborative coaching, which can also improve knowledge of and attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; Health coaching; SARS-Cov-2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccine hesitancy; χ2, chi-square.

Research Title: Assessment of A new Strategy to Prevent Prescribing Errors Involving COVID-19 Patients in Community Pharmacies

Author: Asma Ahmad El-Shara, Published Year: 2022

Hospital Pharmacy, April

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Background: Because COVID-19 patients are vulnerable to prescribing errors (PEs) and adverse drug events, designing and implementing a new approach to prevent prescribing errors (PEs) involving COVID-19 patients has become a priority in pharmacotherapy research. Objectives: To investigate whether using WhatsApp to deliver prescribing error (PE)-related clinical scenarios to community pharmacists could enhance their ability to detect PEs and conduct successful pharmaceutical interventions (PIs). Methods: In this study, 110 community pharmacies were recruited from different regions across Jordan and equally allocated to 2 groups. Over the course of 4 weeks, WhatsApp was used to send PEs-related clinical case scenarios to the active group. The second group was controlled with no clinical scenarios. After completion of the 4-week phase, pharmacists from both groups were asked to document PEs in COVID-19 patients and their interventions using a data-collection form. Results: The incidence of PEs in COVID-19 patients documented in the active group (18.54%) was higher than that reported in the control group (3.09%) (P = .001). Of the 6598 and 968 PIs conducted by participants working in the active and control group pharmacies, 6013 (91.13%) and 651 (67.25%) were accepted, respectively. The proportions of wrong drug (contraindication), wrong drug (unnecessary drug prescribed/no proof of its benefits), and omission of a drug between the active and control groups were 15.30% versus 7.21% (P = .001), 11.85% versus 6.29% (P = .03), and 17.78% versus 10.50% (0.01), respectively. Additionally, the proportions of lethal, serious, and significant errors were 0.74% versus 0.35% (P = .04), 10.52% versus 2.57% (0.002), and 47.88% versus 9.57% (0.001), respectively. Addition of drug therapy interventions (AOR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.21-0.84) and errors with significant clinical seriousness (AOR = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.16-0.64). Conclusions PEs involving COVID-19 patients in community settings are common and clinically significant. The intervention assessed in this study could be promising for designing a feasible and time-efficient interventional tool to encourage pharmacists’ involvement in identifying and correcting PEs in light of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19 patients, prescribing errors, clinical scenarios

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: Allied Medical Sciences

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: 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 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: 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