Research Title: Productive and Sustainable H2 Production from Waste Aluminum Using Copper Oxides-Based Graphene Nanocatalysts: A Techno-Economic Analysis

Author: Yara Hilal Haddad, Published Year: 2022

Sustainability ,

Faculty: Engineering and Technology

Abstract: Hydrogen has universally been considered a reliable source of future clean energy. Its energy conversion, processing, transportation, and storage are techno-economically promising for sustainable energy. This study attempts to maximize the production of H2 energy using nanocatalysts from waste aluminum chips, an abundant metal that is considered a potential storage tank of H2 energy with high energy density. The present study indicates that the use of waste aluminum chips in the production of H2 gas will be free of cost since the reaction by-product, Al2O3 , is denser and can be sold at a higher price than the raw materials, which makes the production cost more efficient and feasible. The current framework investigates seven different copper oxide-based graphene nanocomposites that are synthesized by utilizing green methods and that are well-characterized in terms of their structural, morphological, and surface properties. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and multi-layer graphene (MLG) are used as graphene substrates for CuO and Cu2O NPs, respectively. These graphene materials exhibited extraordinary catalytic activity, while their copper oxide composites exhibited a complete reaction with feasible techno-economic production. The results revealed that the H2 production yield and rates increased twofold with the use of these nanocatalysts. The present study recommends the optimum reactor design considerations and reaction parameters that minimize water vaporization in the reaction and suggests practical solutions to quantify and separate it. Furthermore, the present study affords an economic feasibility approach to producing H2 gas that is competitive and efficient. The cost of producing 1 kg of H2 gas from waste aluminum chips is USD 6.70, which is both economically feasible and technically applicable. The unit cost of H2 gas can be steeply reduced by building large-scale plants offering mass production. Finally, the predicted approach is applicable in large, medium, and small cities that can collect industrial waste aluminum in bulk to generate large-scale energy units.

Keywords: graphene; copper oxide; waste aluminum; hydrogen production; nanocomposites; catalysts

Research Title: In Vitro Evaluation of Smart Pellets as Intelligent Drug Delivery Systems

Author: Mohammad Bayan, Published Year: 2022

The 1st International Conference of the Faculty of Sciences & Faculty of Phamacy at Isra University, Isra University, Amman, Jordan

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: The small intestine is where most conventional oral formulations are mostly absorbed. This restricts their usage in the treatment of several colon disorders since the medicine must act topically at the site of inflammation. This opened the door for the development of an intelligent colonic drug delivery system, which enhanced therapeutic effectiveness, decreased dosing frequency and potential side effects, and increased patient acceptance—particularly in situations where enemas or other topical preparations might not be sufficient to treat inflammation alone. This study's primary goal was to develop a smart medication delivery system based on pH-sensitive polymeric formulations made using a free-radical bulk polymerization technique. In the formulations, 5-amino salicylic acid was used as a model drug and Capmul MCM C8 was added to increase bioavailability. The in vitro swelling and release evaluation showed that the developed system may be able to delay drug release under conditions that mimic the stomach and small intestine while triggering it under conditions that mimic the colon, indicating its potential usefulness as a smart colonic drug delivery system.

Keywords: Mesalamine; Intelligent Delivery; Sustainable Development; Smart Polymers; Colon Disorders

Research Title: The effect of different processing treatments of wheat bran on serum lipids and lipoproteins in Sprague-Dawley rat.

Author: Hani Jameel Mohammad Hamad, Published Year: 2005

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different processing treatments in terms of soaking and fermentation of wheat bran on serum lipids and lipoproteins in Sprague-Dawley rats, namely total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high–density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and (HDL-C/LDL-C) ratio. The experimental diets included casein diet (zero-bran), untreated bran diet, soaked bran diet, fermented bran diet, soaked and fermented bran diet, arabic bread diet and pectin diet.The animals were randomly divided into seven groups of six animals each according to body weights. Each group of rats was fed one of the seven prepared diets for 6 weeks. Untreated wheat bran has hypercholesterolemic effect since, it significantly (p<0.05) increased TC, LDL-C and decreased HDL-C values as compared with treated bran diets . The soaking ,fermentaion , and “soaking and fermentation ” processes lowered significantly (p<0.05) the TC levels in comparison with casein diet. In addition, soaking ,fermentaion ,and “soaking and fermentation ” processes lowered LDL-C levels in rat groups fed on those treated bran diets in comparison with casein diet. HDL-C values were significantly (p<0.05) increased by combination of soaking and fermentaion processes corrected to soaked bran and fermented bran diets. Pectin had a similar behviour to treated bran diet in a remarkable decrease of blood TC values in comparison with fiber-free diet. It is concluded that preparation of wheat bran foods by soaking or/and fermentation improve some physiological characteristics of insoluble fibers, including the cholesterol–lowering ability (particularly total cholesterol TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-C).

Keywords: processing treatments , wheat bran , serum lipids , lipoproteins , Sprague-Dawley rat.

Research Title: CHLOROPHYLL COLOR RETENTION IN GREEN PEPPER PRESERVED IN NATURAL LEMON JUICE

Author: Hani Jameel Mohammad Hamad, Published Year: 2016

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: The effect that dipping green pepper (Capsicum annuum, L.) in natural lemon juice followed by blanching had on the rate of the pepper chlorophyll color retention was studied. Dipping green pepper in natural lemon juice immediately after blanched with chloride salts of copper, zinc and magnesium decreased the degradation of chlorophyll after 2 weeks of storage by 13.6, 31.7 and 74.3%, respectively. The minimal loss in chlorophyll of green pepper treated with copper chloride is attributed to the rapid chelating of the copper complexes and higher heat and acid stability compared to zinc that improved the green color of blanched peeper during storage. Pepper samples that blanched with different chloride salts of copper, zinc and magnesium (100 ppm) and coated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were not significantly (P<0.05) different in chlorophyll content from uncoated samples on any given days.

Keywords: CHLOROPHYLL, COLOR RETENTION , GREEN PEPPER , NATURAL LEMON JUICE

Research Title: Effect of Soaking and Fermentation of Wheat Bran on Weight Gain, Accumulative Food Intake and Food Efficiency Ratio in Rats

Author: Hani Jameel Mohammad Hamad, Published Year: 2015

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different processing treatments in terms of soaking and fermentation of wheat bran on weight gain, accumulative food intake and food efficiency ratio in Sprague- Dawley rats. The experimental diets included casein diet (zero-bran), untreated bran diet, soaked bran diet, fermented bran diet, “soaked and fermented” bran diet and Arabic bread diet. Each group of rats (6/group) was fed one of the six prepared diets for 6 weeks. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the body weight gain among all rat groups, although the rats fed soaked diet tended to have the highest weight gain in comparison with other groups. There was no significant difference in FER among all groups, although, there was a difference between groups in the accumulative food intake. Accumulative food intake (AFI) of the rat group fed soaked bran based-diet was the highest (685.6 ± 17.3 gm) among all groups whereas AFI of the rat group fed “soaked and fermented” bran-based diet was the lowest (550.0 ± 19.1 gm). Rat group fed “soaked and fermented” branbased diet had significantly lower levels (p < 0.05) of AFI than those fed untreated bran diet, soaked bran diet and white bread diet (550.0 ± 19.1, 663.4 ± 16.6, 685.6 ± 17.3 and 629.8 ± 28.4 gm respectively). Accordingly, the AFI of the rat group fed soaked bran diet was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those fed casein and fermented diet (685.6 ± 17.3, 598.4 ± 9.2 and 605.8 ± 25.6 gm respectively). It is concluded that preparation of wheat bran foods by soaking or/and fermentation improve some physiological characteristics of insoluble fibers, including the body weight changes, accumulative food intake and food efficiency ratio for 6 weeks

Keywords: wheat bran, dietary fiber, soaking, fermentation, weight gain, accumulative food intake, food efficiency ratio, sprague-dawley rat

Research Title: ALZHEIMER DISEASE & GENETICS: A MINI REVIEW

Author: Hani Jameel Mohammad Hamad, Published Year: 2015

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases AD is characterized by adult- onset progressive dementia, beginning with subtle memory failure that becomes more severe and is eventually in capacitating. The most common neuropathological feature of AD is the presence of neurofibrillaryt angles and amyloid deposits that form plaques and cerebro vascular accumulations. A Disdivided into familial and sporadic forms. AD is considered familial when more than one person in a family is affected, while sporadic refers to AD cases when no other cases have been seen in close family members. It has been over 100 years since the first cases of AD were described, and since then much has been discovered about the molecular nature of the disease. The genetic control of complex diseases is becoming more apparent as previously unidentified mutations in the human genome are described. As the genetic control of AD is uncovered, improved therapies may also be uncovered.

Keywords: Alzheimer Disease, Genetics, Genetic mutations, Genetic testing, Symptoms, Risk factors

Research Title: Convergent and criterion-related validity of the short form of the International Physical Activity and the Incidental and Planned Physical Activity Questionnaires in people with multiple sclerosis

Author: Shatha Mofleh Al-Khazaaleh, Published Year: 2021

NeuroRehabilitation,

Faculty: Allied Medical Sciences

Abstract: Background: Assessing physical activity (PA) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is essential to follow-up the recommended PA level. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire (IPEQ) have been widely used, but their validity has not been investigated previously in PwMS. Objective: This study aimed to assess the convergent and criterion validity of the IPAQ and the IPEQ in PwMS. Methods: 50 PwMS were asked to wear an Actigraph for seven days and to fill the IPAQ and IPEQ. Sedentary, moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) levels were recorded. Results: Significant correlations were found between sitting time as reported by IPAQ and sedentary time as recorded by Actigraph (r = 0.41, p = 0.003), VPA by IPAQ and VPA as recorded by Actigraph (r = 0.46, p = 0.001), and MVPA by IPAQ and MVPA by Actigraph (r = 0.36, p = 0.011). IPEQ showed poor both criterion and convergent validity when compared to the Actigraph. Both IPAQ and IPEQ overestimate the intensities of PA for all the derived parameters. Conclusions: Findings of this study are important as they suggest that IPAQ in particular had convergent validity when compared to Actigraph data, but still had the problem of overestimating PA levels.

Keywords: Actigraph; IPAQ; IPEQ; Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire; International Physical Activity Questionnaire; Physical activity; multiple sclerosis.

Research Title: A Model-Driven Engineering Transition-Based GUI Testing Technique

Author: Omar Fuad AlsheikhSalem, Published Year: 2016

2015 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI), Las Vegas, NV, USA

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: Model Driven Engineering (MDE) have arisen as a new software development paradigm which is based on creating a set of models that represent the GUI, afterwards to generate the GUI based on these models using a series of transformations to convert the models between the different levels of abstractions, which enables the automation of the development process. This inspires us to think of a model-based testing technique that is able to test the GUIs that are designed using Model-Driven engineering by finding the proper model that can serve as a testing model. This paper proposes model-based testing technique that is derived from the design models used to develop the GUI in the Model-Driven Engineering paradigm.

Keywords: Testing , Graphical user interfaces , Unified modeling language , Navigation , Heuristic algorithms , Switches

Research Title: d-HMAC Dynamic HMAC function

Author: Firas M.H S Najjar, Published Year: 2006

International Conference on Dependability of Computer Systems,

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: In this paper, we want to enhance the powerful of HMAC function (key-hashed message authentication) to be more resistant against the exhaustive search attack and birthday attack by inventing d-HMAC function (dynamic HMAC function). To achieve our purpose we use dynamic values of ipad and opad. The values of ipad and opad are calculated in dynamic way instead of having fixed strings. The calculation of the values of ipad and opad will depend on the input parameters for HMAC and the input message

Keywords: d-HMAC

Research Title: IPv6 change threats behavior

Author: Firas M.H S Najjar, Published Year: 2015

International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 6

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: IPv4 address pool is already exhausted; therefore, the change to use IPv6 is eventually necessary to give us a massive address pool. Although IPv6 was built with security in mind, extensive research must be done before deploying IPv6 to ensure the protection of security and privacy. This paper firstly presents the differences between the old and new IP versions (IPv4 and IPv6), and how these differences will affect the attacks, then the paper will show how the attacks on IPv4 and IPv6 will remain mostly the same; furthermore, the use of IPv6 will give rise to new types of attacks and change other types’ behavior.

Keywords: IPv6 threats