Conspiracy Beliefs Are Associated with Lower Knowledge and Higher Anxiety Levels Regarding COVID-19 among Students at the University of Jordan

The world has been afflicted heavily by the burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that overwhelmed health care systems and caused severe economic and educational deficits, in addition to anxiety among the public. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the mutual effects of belief that the pandemic was the result of a conspiracy on knowledge and anxiety levels among students at the University of Jordan (UJ). An electronic-based survey was conducted between 29 March, 2020 and 31 March, 2020. The targeted population involved all undergraduate and postgraduate students from the health, scientific and humanities schools at UJ. Survey sections included 26 items on: socio-demographic information, knowledge and sources of information about the disease, attitude towards the false notion that COVID-19 stemmed from a conspiracy and items to assess the anxiety level among students during the quarantine period. The total number of participants was 1540 students. The mean age of study participants was 22 years and females predominated the study population (n = 1145, 74.4%). The majority of participants perceived the disease as moderately dangerous (n = 1079, 70.1%). Males, Jordanians and participants with lower income were more inclined to feel that COVID-19 is very dangerous. A lower level of knowledge and a higher level of anxiety about COVID-19 were associated with the belief that the disease is part of a conspiracy. Females and participants with lower income were more likely to believe that the disease is related to conspiracy. Belief in conspiracy regarding the origin of COVID-19 was associated with misinformation about the availability of a vaccine and the therapeutic use of antibiotics for COVID-19 treatment. The Ministry of Health in Jordan was the most common source of information about COVID-19 reported by the participants (n = 1018). The false belief that COVID-19 was the result of a global conspiracy could be the consequence of a lower level of knowledge about the virus and could lead to a higher level of anxiety, which should be considered in the awareness tools of various media platforms about the current pandemic

Review on Adsorption of Heavy Metal in Wastewater by Using Geopolymer

Rapid development of advanced technology in Malaysia gave impact increasing in the accumulation of heavy metal every day in our daily life through wastewater. Long term exposure of human bodies to heavy metals susceptible to receives various infections and diseases. From an environmental and economic perspective, adsorption is acceptable process that can be applied in wastewater treatment. However, usage of activated carbon most acknowledged and costly adsorbents lead people to find an alternative to activated carbon. Several studies of physical properties of geopolymer make them gain attention to replace an activated carbon in the treatment of heavy metal. This paper review adsorption of heavy metal by using geopolymer

Interaction of Geopolymer Filler and Alkali Molarity Concentration towards the Fire Properties of Glass-Reinforced Epoxy Composites Fabricated Using Filament Winding Technique

This paper aims to find out the effect of different weight percentages of geopolymer filler in glass-reinforced epoxy pipe, and which can achieve the best mechanical properties and adhesion between high calcium pozzolanic-based geopolymer matrices. Different weight percentages and molarities of epoxy hardener resin and high calcium pozzolanic-based geopolymer were injected into the glass fiber. By manually winding filaments, composite samples were produced, and they were then allowed to cure at room temperature. To determine how well the geopolymer matrices adhere to the fiber reinforcement, the microstructure of the composites’ surfaces and perpendicular sections were examined. Maximum values of compressive strength and compressive modulus were 94.64 MPa and 2373.58 MPa, respectively, for the sample with a weight percentage of filler loading of 30 wt% for an alkali concentration of 12 M. This is a relatively wide range of geopolymer weight percentage of filler loading from 10 wt% to 40 wt%, at which we can obtain high compressive properties. By referring to microstructural analysis, adhesion, and interaction of the geopolymer matrix to glass fiber, it shows that the filler is well-dispersed and embedded at the fiber glass, and it was difficult to determine the differences within the range of optimal geopolymer filler content. By determining the optimum weight percent of 30 wt% of geopolymer filler and microstructural analysis, the maximum parameter has been achieved via analysis of high calcium pozzolanic-based geopolymer filler. Fire or elevated temperature represents one of the extreme ambient conditions that any structure may be exposed to during its service life. The heat resistance or thermal analysis between glass-reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipe and glass-reinforced epoxy pipe filled with high calcium pozzolanic-based geopolymer filler was studied by investigating burning tests on the samples, which shows that the addition of high calcium pozzolanic-based geopolymer filler results in a significant reduction of the melted epoxy

Assessment of alkali activated geopolymer binders as an alternative of portland cement

This study summarizes the recent achievements in the development of alternative cement free binder materials (cementless) called alkali activated binder or more popularly known as geopolymers. The history of the development of alkali activated binder and recent terminology are discussed. The influence of the type of the base materials on the properties of goepolymers are thoroughly reviewed. The effect of composition and concentration of alkali and curing temperature on the properties and mechanical behavior of the resulting alkali activated material are discussed. Different type of base materials used in the formation of alkali activated material are blast furnace slag, metakaolin, fly ash, bottom ash, volcanic ashes, and red mud. The state-of-the art in this field demonstrated that this type of materials are ecologically friendly alternative of the Ordinary Portland cement

H1N1 INFECTION IN PREGNANCY; A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF FETO-MATERNAL OUTCOME AND IMPACT OF THE TIMING OF ANTIVIRAL THERAPY

Background and Objective: H1N1 infection carries an increased risk in pregnancy. Our aim was to study the fetomaternal outcome and the effect of early initiation of therapy. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study. Confirmed infected cases were included. Maternal age, parity, gestational age at diagnosis, presenting symptoms, time between presentation and starting therapy, ICU admission, and maternal and perinatal outcome were evaluated. Results: Nineteen confirmed patients were included. Most patients are 31 years old or more. Multiparous patients were 73.68% and 57.89% were in the third trimester. Most of our patients presented with cough, fever, and chills. Two patients were admitted to the ICU. One of them was a case of maternal mortality. 42.10% of patients were started on therapy only one day after clinical onset of symptoms. 26.31% delivered before 37 completed weeks. 73.68% delivered beyond term. Around one third delivered vaginally. 45% of babies weighed more than 3 kg. Four babies weighed less than 2 kg. Ninety percent had APGAR scores more than 8 at 1 and 5 minutes after delivery. Twenty five percent were admitted to the NICU with no neonatal mortalities. Conclusions: H1N1 influenza A infection in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Medical and public awareness, low threshold for testing suspected pregnant patients, very early initiation of antiviral therapy, and multidisciplinary approach in our series decreased the overall adverse effects of this infection

Narghile (water pipe) smoking among university students in Jordan: prevalence, pattern and beliefs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and objectives</p> <p>Narghile is becoming the favorite form of tobacco use by youth globally. This problem has received more attention in recent years. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and pattern of narghile use among students in three public Jordanian universities; to assess their beliefs about narghile's adverse health consequences; and to evaluate their awareness of oral health and oral hygiene.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was a cross-sectional survey of university students. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed randomly to university students in three public Jordanian universities during December, 2008. The questionnaire was designed to ask specific questions that are related to smoking in general, and to narghile smoking in specific. There were also questions about oral health awareness and oral hygiene practices.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>36.8% of the surveyed sample indicated they were smokers comprising 61.9% of the male students and 10.7% of the female students in the study sample. Cigarettes and narghile were the preferred smoking methods among male students (42%). On the other hand, female students preferred narghile only (53%). Parental smoking status but not their educational level was associated with the students smoking status. Smokers had also significantly poor dental attendance and poor oral hygiene habits.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study confirmed the spreading narghile epidemic among young people in Jordan like the neighboring countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Alarming signs were the poor oral health awareness among students particularly smokers.</p

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing E. coli in urinary tract infections: A two-center, cross-sectional study of prevalence, genotypes and risk factors in Amman, Jordan

Background: To determine the prevalence, phenotypes, and genotypes of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) among patients with urinary tract infection along with identifying the associated risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at two tertiary hospitals in Amman, Jordan between June and October, 2016. One hundred twenty one E. coli isolates from hospitalized patients with urinary tract infection were phenotypically assessed for ESBL production using the double disc diffusion test. Positive isolates to ESBL production were further genotyped using multiplex PCR. A nested case-control study was used to determine the independent risk factors. Results: ESBL-producing E. coli were found in 75/121 (62%) isolates. Molecular genotyping demonstrated that CTX-M group1 (42.7%) predominated followed by combination of SHV and CTX-M group1 (20%). In the regression model, previous hospitalization and use of urinary catheter were identified as independent risk factors for ESBL-producing E. coli infections. Conclusion: We report a high prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli which is in concordance with other studies from developing countries. Additionally, CTX-M group1 has emerged as the predominant ESBL produced by E. coli, which is consistent with reported results throughout the world. Independent risk factors to UTI infections due to ESBL-producing E. coli include previous hospitalization and use of urinary catheter. Keywords: E. coli, ESBL, CTX-M group 1, Urinary tract infection, Risk factor