Maintaining Cross-Border Cargo Movements Between Jordan and Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

One of Jordan's essential border crossings, the Al-Omari border crossing, is 1 of 3 land crossings between Jordan and Saudi Arabia and is located 160 km west of the capital city of Amman. Given its economic importance and essential role in the functioning of food supply networks across the region, Jordan undertook evidence-driven actions to keep the border crossing safely open during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-border coordination and collaboration, specifically with international contact tracing and case management, have been critical elements of Jordan's response. While several bottlenecks and delays led to documented clusters of infections among truck drivers, this case study illustrates the use of evidence to mitigate disease exposure and spread. Plans to manage public health threats need to consider sustainable strengthened surveillance and laboratory capacities coupled with efficient cross-border communication and coordination plans implemented across multiple sectors engaged in cross-country health.

A systematic review in recent trends of e-learning usability evaluation techniques

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the applications of e-learning have become more widespread because of the inability of students to attend schools and universities. Usability techniques are important aspects qualities and success operators for any electronic learning website and, application. However, there is a lot of literature on usability technologies in many areas such as business, financial, and health, but a little about the recent directions of these technologies for modern e-learning. Therefore, this research conducted a systematic review on recent ways of e-learning usability assessment approaches to fill the gap in this topic. The systematic review consists of downloading many articles on usability evaluation techniques that are used to measure e-learning quality from major databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Academia, Scopus, Springer, and Clarivate. Then these articles have been investigated one by one to find which usability evaluation techniques are common, reliable, and their advantages and disadvantages. The study of the systematic literature review showed that the most commonly employed technique for measuring e-learning quality is the testing using a questionnaire in about 80.95% of the papers examined. Furthermore, empirical studies such as experiments, surveys, and case studies account for 66.65 percent of the studies reviewed. I hope this research will serve as a reference for decision-makers in ministries and universities to check the fineness of their e-learning. The current study is used as a reference for researchers and Ph.D. students to overcome drawbacks in current e-learning usability evaluation techniques. © 2023 Author(s).

Obesity and Food Delivery Applications: Lessons Learned from Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Obesity is a global pandemic and has been associated with poor dietary habits and decreased physical activity. It has been linked to various chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Food delivery applications have seen a surge in the last ten years, their usage becoming more common throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. While these applications have many advantages and disadvantages, they are expected to contribute to the increasing obesity rates in Saudi Arabia in the upcoming years. The purpose of the study is to assess the use of food delivery applications in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study using a convenience sampling technique. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, social media platforms were used to distribute the survey from August 21, 2021, until September 19, 2021. A repeated logistic regression model was used to compare food delivery factors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. All analyses were performed using SAS 9.4 with a two-sided p-value (alpha = 0.05). Results: A total of 954 respondents completed the survey. The respondents predominantly reported using online applications for delivery (86.97%), for accessibility convenience and speed (80.08%), and favorably for dinner meals (61.11%). Almost half of the respondents reported an inability to control food cravings (45.49%). Furthermore, 42.14% of the respondents reported an increase in weight of up to five kg during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant difference pre and during the pandemic among the use of the food delivery applications per number of use weekly, amount spent, and food choices. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that food delivery applications are commonly used in Saudi Arabia, specifically with a high prevalence of use among young Saudi residents. Yet, no interventions are proposed to reduce the purchase of highly processed food on these applications. Public health officials and healthcare providers are highly encouraged to increase awareness on obesity and healthy dietary choices to limit the ongoing obesity pandemic.

Introduction to clove: Chemistry, functionality, and techno-applications

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a spice globally used as a food preservative and for medical applications. Nowadays, S. aromaticum is cultured in several parts of the world. S. aromaticum is rich in phenolic constituents (i.e., eugenol and eugenol acetate) and possesses the potential for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural applications. Eugenol is a major bioactive constituent of S. aromaticum oil recovered from buds and leaves. Eugenol biological traits have been well-investigated, including analgesic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. The health-promoting activities of clove are higher than several vegetables, fruits, and spices. Eugenol (C10H12O2) is considered safe as a food additive and is used to protect food from microorganisms and as a fumigant and pesticide. In addition, it is included in many dental formulations and helps with enhanced skin permeation of drugs. This handbook aims to establish a multidisciplinary discussion on the development of S. aromaticum phytochemistry, technology, processing, agricultural practices, functional traits, health-enhancing potential, mechanism of action, and toxicity as well as food and nonfood uses. The studies reported in this project confirm the functional applications of S. aromaticum as a medicinal plant, standing out for the significance of its novel applications. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Severity of Covid-19 Infection and Vaccine Side Effects among the Saudi Population

COVID-19 first emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in the Hubie Province of China. Typical COVID-19 symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, and cough, whereas less common symptoms involve sudden onset of ageusia and/or anosmia, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The primary objective was to compare the severity of symptoms among individuals infected with COVID-19 who have been vaccinated and those who have not. The second objective is to describe individuals' post-vaccination side effects and complaints to understand Saudis' aversion to vaccinations. This is a cross-sectional study among residents of Saudi Arabia including Saudis and non-Saudis. An online questionnaire was distributed via several social media channels. Univariate analysis was used to compare respondents' demographic, COVID-19 infection, and post-vaccination characteristics. Bivariate associations were assessed using Chi-square. Adjacent categories logit model was used to compare severity reported levels and COVID-19 related and demographic factors. A total of 1,432 respondents completed the survey. Most of the infected individuals were not immune at the time of infection and reported more than four symptoms. There was no significant association between vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals in terms of reporting COVID-19 severe infection. On the other hand, there were several significant predictors of reporting severe COVID-19 infection level as number of symptoms, hospitalization, gender, marital status, and education attainment. Men are more likely to report severe COVID-19 complications. Participants who hold a higher degree are more likely to report severe COVID-19 infection. Local side effects included pain, swelling, itchiness, warmth, and bruising at the site of the injection. Systemic side effects included fever, headache, fatigue, period changes, and diarrhea. Allergic side effects include local rash, skin burning, and urticaria. Further research is needed to better understand the severity and sideeffects of COVID-19 vaccines and even boosters.

Morbidity And Mortality Among Patients with Compensated Cirrhosis Infected with COVID-19

Background: Patients with liver cirrhosis, due to immunological dysfunction, are at a significant risk for getting SARS-Cov-2 infection, which accounts for 1.2 million deaths annually around the world. Objective: To study impact of COVID-19 on morbidity and mortality among patients with compensated cirrhosis. Patients and Methods: Our prospective cohort study was done at Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital, and Internal Medicine Department of Zagazig University Hospitals, this study was performed on 180 patients. The included patients are classified into two groups;ninety COVID-19-infected patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and ninety non-CLD patients with COVID. PCR, liver functions as well as pelvi-abdominal Ultrasound were done to all patients. Results: There is statistically significant difference between both groups regarding mortality. About 18% and 7% within CLD with COVID and non-CLD with COVID groups respectively died by the end. There is statistically significant relation between mortality among CLD patients with COVID and CRP and ESR levels (both were significantly lower among survivors). There is statistically significant relation between hepatic encephalopathy among CLD patients with COVID and ESR levels (both were significantly lower among those with hepatic encephalopathy). Conclusion: Both preexisting medical issues and those that arise during hospitalisation appear to have a significant impact on the mortality of COVID-19 patients. Hospitalized cirrhotic individuals whose survival rates have been studied for the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection can provide further additional details. © 2022, Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine. All rights reserved.

COVID 19 Effects on Patients with Compensated Cirrhosis

Background: The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in Wuhan, China and spread around the world. Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is phylogenetically related to severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat viruses, therefore bats could be the possible primary reservoir.The intermediate source of origin and transfer to humans is not known, however, the rapid human to human transfer has been confirmed widely. There is no clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine available to be used against COVID-19. However, few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have been evaluated against COVID-19 in clinical trials, resulted in clinical recovery.The liver, the largest internal organ in the body, is essential in keeping the body functioning properly. It removes or neutralizes poisons from the blood, produces immune agents to control infection, and removes germs and bacteria from the blood. It makes proteins that regulate blood clotting and produces bile to help absorb fats and fat-soluble vitamins. Several studies have shown a significant risk of mortality in patients with cirrhosis and in liver transplantation recipients.2, 3, 4 The severity of presentation and risk of mortality is more in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.5,6 COVID-19 had lead to a significant decrease in number of liver transplant surgeries being performed, which would lead to an increased wait list mortality in these patients.

RT- PCR testing of upper respiratory tract samples for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2: Between justification and overestimation, a multi-center international study.

BACKGROUND: It has been found that patients recovered from COVID 19 may still test Reverse Transcriptase- Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT- PCR) positive without being infectious; the reasons are unclear. The occurrence of false-negative results of RT- PCR interferes with a proper diagnosis. The objectives of that work were to determine factors associated with persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA among recovered hospitalized patients and to determine the incidence of false-negative RT-PCR results and associated factors. METHODS: Relevant data were collected from 482 COVID 19 patients hospitalized in six referral centers from four countries. RESULTS: The median duration of RT- PCR conversion to negative was 20 days. Out of 482 studied patients, 8.7% tested positive after more than four weeks and were considered prolonged convertors. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed headache as an independent risk factor for short conversion time while fever, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lymphopenia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and the number of lobes affected, and bilateralism were found to be independent risk factors for prolonged positivity. Eighteen patients had initial negative results then turned positive after 24-48 h. Associated factors and outcomes were identified. CONCLUSION: Identifying patients with a high likelihood of COVID-19 despite a negative RT-PCR is critical for effective clinical care. However, patient isolation resumption depending on positive RT-PCR despite clinical and radiological recovery is an overrating that greatly burdens the health sector.