Research Title: Seroprevalences of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections in Jordanian women who had a recent spontaneous abortion

Author: Raida W. Khalil, Published Year: 2021

Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 30

Faculty: Science

Abstract: This cross-sectional study investigates Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum among 445 recently spontaneously aborted (RSA) Jordanian women using ELISA and indirect fluorescent antibody (at a cut-off value of 1/200) tests, respectively. The type of hospital, age, cat and dog contacts, raw and barbecued meat and wild plant consumption, number of abortions, and stillbirths were tested as independent variables using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The true seroprevalences were 22.1% for T. gondii-IgG, 22.7% for N. caninum-IgG, 2.6% for T. gondii-IgM, 10.6% for N. caninum-IgM, 0% for T. gondii-IgG and IgM, 6.7% for N. caninum-IgG and IgM, and 4.6% and 0% for both parasite IgG and IgM, respectively. T. gondii-IgM-seropositivity was associated with the number of abortions with odds ratios (OR) of 2.4 and eating barbecued meat (OR = 0.12). N. caninum-IgG-seropositivity was associated with having a dog in the house (OR = 2.6), and with stillbirth (OR = 0.1). N. caninum-IgM was associated with visiting a private-hospital (OR = 2.7). RSA Jordanian women are equally exposed to both parasites with significantly (p < 0.05) higher seroprevalence of N. caninum-IgM compared to T. gondii-IgM suggestive of active infections among RSA women in Jordan.

Keywords: Neospora caninum; Jordanian women, Spontaneous abortion

Research Title: Earnings management, ownership structure and the firm value: An empirical analysis

Author: Hassan Hamad Aldboush, Published Year: 2021

Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences, Research Article: 20

Faculty: Business

Abstract: There are always conflicts of interest between managers (agents) and owners (leaders), but not necessarily the degree of disagreement. This is due to a conflict of interest or a division of responsibility. The purpose of this research is to look at the effects of earnings management and ownership structure on business value. The public firms included for this research were listed on the Amman Stock Exchange between 2015 and 2019. The purposive sampling strategy is used in this research to examine the sample, providing seven businesses as the test sample. In the regression analysis, multiple regression and descriptive statistics were applied. According to the conclusions of this research, earning management, managerial ownership, and institutional ownership have minimal effect on business value. Aside from that, the findings suggest that family ownership has a significant favorable influence on business worth. To maximize the firm's valuation, it is recommended that these firms strictly adhere to the CG mechanism as a requirement. The function of CG as an independent or moderating variable, on the other hand, is still debatable.

Keywords: Earnings management (EM); Firm value (FV); Ownership structure (OS).

Research Title: Anticancer Activity and In Silico ADMET Properties of 2,4,5-Trisubstitutedthiazole

Author: Soha Telfah, Published Year: 2020

Current Drug Metabolism, 1

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Recently, a series of 15 compounds with 2,4,5-trisubstitutedthiazole scaffold having

Keywords: Cytotoxicity, 2-amino-5-aryl-thiazole, breast cancer cell lines

Research Title: Synthesis and evaluation of 2,4,5-trisubstitutedthiazoles as carbonic anhydrase-III inhibitors

Author: Soha Telfah, Published Year: 2020

JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, 35

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: A series of 17 compounds 12–16 b with 2,4,5 trisubstitutedthiazole scaffold having 5 aryl group, 4 carboxylic acid/ester moiety, and 2-amino/ amido /ureido functional groups were synthesized, characterized,

Keywords: Carbonic anhydrase III inhibitors; 2-amino-5-arylthiazole Hummel–Dreyer method of chromatography

Research Title: Intertextuality in the Cordovan Maqama_ An Analytical Statistical study

Author: Omar Faris Yousif AlKafaween, Published Year: 2021

مجلة المشكاة للعلوم الإنسانية والاجتماعية, مقبول للنشر

Faculty: Arts

Abstract: The study aimed to shed light on an important mechanism for the construction of the text in the Cordovan Maqama, one of the Andalusian Maqamat in the 6th century AH, that is the mechanism of intertextuality. The study starts with introducing this Maqama and the context of its production besides a summary of its plot, and then the definition and importance of intertextuality are introduced before explaining the main intertextual forms that are found in this Maqama via a statistical process which highlights the role of intertextuality in constructing the Maqama text on both the aesthetic and the thematic aspects. The main forms of intertextuality in the Maqama are the religious intertextuality, especially the Quranic one, and the literary intertextuality, such as poetic and proverbial intertextuality, in addition to references to traditional figures. The research method used was the statistical one in combination with the descriptive and formalist methods. The study ends with several conclusions, the most important of which is that literary intertextuality, particularly poetry, is the most common in the Maqama, while the rest of the forms are present almost equally, and the style of intertextuality in most of them takes the form of direct quotation.

Keywords: Intertextuality, Intertextuality Forms, Cordovan Maqama

Research Title: Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of Aristolochia maurorum L

Author: Soha Telfah, Published Year: 2006

Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung, 61

Faculty: Pharmacy

Abstract: Aristolochia maurorum L. of Jordanian origin has been investigated phytochemically, quantitatively, and biologically. Three atypical alkaloids, namely aristolochic acid I (1), aristolochic acid II (2) and aristolochic acid IIIa (3), have been isolated and identified. Of these known 1-phenanthrenecarboxylic acids, 2 and 3 are reported for the first time from this species. The identified compounds 1-3 were first evaluated biologically as cytotoxic agents against the brine shrimp lethality test (BST), in which compound 1 was found to be the most potent (LC50, 4.9 microg/mL). The antiplatelet activity of the methanolic extracts, the acidic fractions of aerial and root parts, and the identified compounds 1-3 were evaluated using an automatic platelet aggregometer and coagulation tracer (APACT 2). Using external reference standards, and a reverse-phase isocratic method, the distribution of aristolochic acid I and aristolochic acid II in different plant parts of Aristolochia maurorum L. during flowering stage was analyzed by PDA-HPLC. A quantitative comparison between two previously reported extraction methods was also made. Roots were found to be the main storage of aristolochic acid I and aristolochic acid II during flowering stage with about 0.22 and 0.108% (w/w), respectively.

Keywords: Aristolochic Acids, Aristolochia maurorum, Antiplatelet Activity

Research Title: ‎A Holystic Self-adaptive systems model‎

Author: Said Ahmad Ammar Ghoul, Published Year: 2021

‎, International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications (IJSEA), , 12, 2/3, May 2021‎

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: The recent self-adaptive software systematic literature reviews stated clearly the following ‎insufficiencies: (1) the need for a holistic self-adaptive software model to integrate its different ‎aspects (2) The limitation of adaptations to context changes (3) The absence of a general and ‎complete adaptations’ picture allowing its understandability, maintainability, evaluation, reuse, and ‎variability. (4) The need for an explicit and a detailed link with resources, and (5) a usual limitation ‎to known events. ‎ In order to metigate these insufficiencies, this paper is proposing a holistic model that integrates the ‎operating, adaptations, and adaptations’ manager aspects. The proposed model covers all possible ‎adaptations: operating (dealing with software functions failures), lifecycle (handling adaptations ‎required by some software lifecycle steps), and context (facing context changes events). The ‎presented work introduces the concept of software adaptations process integrating the ‎specifications of all the above kind of adaptations. In fact, this work shows an explicit trace to its ‎pure bio-inspired origin. ‎ An application of the proposed approach on a “car industry case study” demonstrated its feasibility ‎in comparison with similar works that proved its meaningful added value and its promising research ‎perspectives.‎

Keywords: Self-adaptive software, bio-inspired approach, adaptation events, immune system.‎

Research Title: ‎A Feature Model Based Configuration Reuse for Context-aware Systems‎

Author: Said Ahmad Ammar Ghoul, Published Year: 2021

Computers, Materials & Continua (‎Scopus, Q2), Under press

Faculty: Information Technology

Abstract: Most of Self-Adaptive Systems (SAS) use Feature Models (FMs) to represent their complex ‎architecture and benefit from reusing commonalities and variability information. However ‎triggering SAS reconfiguration process, each time a system needs to be adapted, continues to ‎cost time and effort. Current FM techniques have modelled SAS concepts, focusing on ‎representing and reusing elementary features without taking into consideration modelling and ‎reusing configurations. This work presents an extension to the FM in order to remedy this ‎important problem by introducing and managing the configuration feature. Evaluation shows that ‎the reuse of configuration feature reduces reconfiguration process effort and time during the run ‎time in order to meet the required scenario according to the context.‎

Keywords: Self-Adaptive system, Feature Model, System reuse, Configuration management, Variability ‎modelling‎

Research Title: Investigating the efficiency of financial markets: Empirical evidence from MENA countries

Author: Izzeddien Naef Ananzeh, Published Year: 2021

Investment management and financial innovations, Volume 18, Issue 1,

Faculty: Business

Abstract: The market efficiency hypothesis has become an important concept for all investors looking to own internationally diversified portfolios, which coincides with an increase in investment flows between all countries, both developed and undeveloped. This study was aimed at investigating the efficiency of a group of Arab stock markets located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region according to the Random Walk Hypotheses (RWH) at weak form. The study covered the markets of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman. The empirical results of all tests used in this study rejected the RWH at a weak form for all markets through all tests applied – Unit root test, Variance Ratio Test, and Run Test. The result of this study contradicts the results of many studies conducted on developed and emerging markets. This can be a good indication of the ineffectiveness of the reforms that have been adopted by responsible bodies on these markets. Based on this result, all efforts made to expand and deepen these markets should be intensified by improving liquidity, transparency, enhancing investment culture in these countries; supporting legislative and regulatory reforms to attract investment, and developing the financial sector in these markets as a whole.

Keywords: MENA markets, market efficiency, financial markets, unit root tests, run test, variance ratio test

Research Title: Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of FINCA (fibrosis, neurodegeneration, and cerebral angiomatosis) syndrome beyond infancy

Author: Tawfiq Froukh, Published Year: 2021

Clinical genetics, 100

Faculty: Science

Abstract: Fibrosis, neurodegeneration, and cerebral angiomatosis (FINCA, MIM#618278) is a rare clinical condition caused by bi-allelic variants in NHL repeat containing protein 2 (NHLRC2, MIM*618277). Pulmonary disease may be the presenting sign and the few patients reported so far, all deceased in early infancy. Exome sequencing was performed on patients with childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) and additional neurological features. The chILD-EU register database and an in-house database were searched for patients with NHLRC2 variants and clinical features overlapping FINCA syndrome. Six patients from three families were identified with bi-allelic variants in NHLRC2. Two of these children died before the age of two while four others survived until childhood. Interstitial lung disease was pronounced in almost all patients during infancy and stabilized over the course of the disease with neurodevelopmental delay (NDD) evolving as the key clinical finding. We expand the phenotype of FINCA syndrome to a multisystem disorder with variable severity. FINCA syndrome should also be considered in patients beyond infancy with NDD and a history of distinct interstitial lung disease. Managing patients in registers for rare diseases helps identifying new diagnostic entities and advancing care for these patients.

Keywords: cerebropulmonary disease, childhood interstitial lung disease, cholesterol pneumonia, FINCA, lung fibrosis, lipoid pneumonitis, multi-organ disease, NHLRC2