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.

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Journal: 2. Published online version ; 29 July Year: 2016

Three olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars Nabali Baladi (NB), Nabali Muhassan (NM), and Grossi Di’Espagna (GE) were evaluated under salt stress. Seedlings were treated with salinity induced by a 3:1 ratio of calcium chloride and sodium chloride to four concentration levels measured as electrical conductivity (EC) [1.2, 4.1, 7.0, and 14.0 dS/m] for 122 days. Olive seedlings varied in their response to salinity. In all treatments, NB had the highest root; stem and leaf dry weights had among the highest total plant dry weights, specific stem length (SSL) and relative water content (RWC). NB seedlings maintained the highest stomatal conductance at 7.0 dS/m and highest chlorophyll index at 14.0 dS/m. Olive seedlings that tolerated salt tolerance developed mechanisms of nutrient acquisition and distribution in the organs, by storing minimal amounts of sodium (NaC) and chloride (Cl¡) in the stems and loading the most in the leaves and roots.

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Journal: Journal of Plant Nutrition - Volume: 40 Issue: 14 (1955-1968) Year: 2017

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity among Jordanian school female adolescents in greater Amman. A representative random sample of 501 female adolescents school children, 10 to 17 years of age was recruited from 3 schools from greater Amman. The anthropometric data for adolescents (10-17 years old) were entered and compared to the growth reference curves/charts developed in 2006/2007 by the World Health Organization (WHO) using WHO 2009 AnthroPlus software. After sorting and cleaning of the data, descriptive analysis was conducted to obtain prevalence of obesity, overweight, and thinness. Malnourished children were defined as those with overweight, obese, or thinness. The overall average prevalences of thinness, normal weight, overweight, and obesity were 7.2% , 46.8%, 36.2% and 9.9 %, respectively. Among the thinness category (WAZ <-2 SD) , the highest percentage (16.7%) is for 16-17 age group followed by 14-15 age group (6.7%) while it is 5.3% in 10-11 age group. An overall prevalence of malnutrition characterized by overweight and obesity together among all age groups is 46.1%. As a conclusion, the study showed that more than half (53.3%) of Jordanian school adolescents in greater Amman are malnourished, with a prevalence of overweight, obesity and thinness at the same time, requiring different strategies to control either type. Further research about the dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors of Jordanian adolescents is recommended.

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Journal: 2. Volume: 33 Year: 2016

Dietary behaviors of the young population are affected by numerous factors. University study period also influences the lifestyle of students, including diet. The objective of this study was to explore dietary and lifestyle behaviors of Jordan University of Science and Technology (J.U.S.T.) students living away from their home. A convenient sample of 370 male students was recruited from different majors and academic years and with different socio-economic backgrounds. The sample size was calculated proportionally to the total number of university students. Participants filled out a self-reported questionnaire (included questions on eating and physical activity habits). Most participants spend around 51% of their financial income on food items. Statistical analysis of the available data shows that the general health in majority of the study sample is good. The psychological status of the participants has a significant direct effect on food intake. Results show that 71% of the study sample are not interested nor affected at all by books, internet, videos and magazines that portray food. In addition, fresh foods are predominantly consumed in both breakfast and lunch, while processed foods are more common in the dinner between 71% participants. Furthermore, consumption of snacks with discretionary calories is much higher that than of healthy snacks like fruits. It is recommended to plan and implement a nutritional intervention, extension and education programs which allow university students to improve their nutritional knowledge.

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Journal: 2. Volume: 33 Year: 2017

The current study was conducted in the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), Northern of Jordan. The aim of this study is to determine the consumption from food groups compared with the food guide pyramid among University students living away from their homes and to examine how the economic status of the study sample and the influence it has on spent on food. The study targeted male students known to live away from their parents, where a convenient sample of 370 male students chosen randomly from different majors and academic years and with different socio-economic backgrounds. Participants were interviewed by trained nutritionists where the actual intakes number of servings from each food groups was recorded. The results of the study showed that 75.7% of the study subjects who lived away from home; they reside in Jordan, while 24.3% of the students’ parents were living outside Jordan. In addition, most of outside students fit in the highest financial income per month category comprising three-quarters those in the “more than 201 dinar” category. Regarding the number of servings consumed from each group, 44% of the study sample consume less than the minimum recommended servings for the dairy group; most participants don’t meet the recommendations for meat and meat substitutes group by a percentage of 38.9%; only 11.1% meet daily recommendations from vegetables group; 46% of students do not meet the minimum recommended number of servings of fruits group and most of the study sample (43.8%) meet recommended number of servings from grain group. It is recommended to meet daily recommendations of servings from the food groups (dairy, meat, grains, fruits and vegetables); specifically to increase fruits intake; for it’s rich content of nutrients not available from any other sources. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the food intake with different dietary evaluation tools.

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Journal: 2. Volume: 29 Year: 2017

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of measure the prevalence of obesity among university population in Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) University, Northern Jordan. A crosssectional survey of (370) university male students were recruited from different majors and academic years. They were asked to answer questions concerning ; perception of their body weight and weight changes after leaving home; Participants’ desire to reduce their body weight; the reasons that drive this desire and means used for weight reduction. Weights, heights and body mass index (BMI) were measured. The prevalence of the BMI categories in the sample were: 50% of the study sample is overweight making up the majority, participants with a normal BMI are 28%, 11.1% are underweight and 11% of participants suffer from obesity. Regarding to the participants’ perception of their body weight and weight changes, the study results showed that 74.8% of the students in the study sample are in the normal or overweight categories, 22% are underweight and 3% are obese. The extent of weight change due to living away from home was also reported, where 50% confirmed a slight loss in their weight, 5% had a significant increase and 12% experienced no changes in their body weight. 67% of the total participants had a desire to lose weight where the rest of the 33% had no desire to lose weight. In conclusion, overweight and obesity do exist in the university students and this maybe a reflection of the lifestyle; dietary habits and pattern of living in university. Further research is needed to investigate the dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors of the university students.

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Journal: 2. Volume: 34 Year: 2017

This study aims to measure the prevalence of obesity, to assess the food habits and physical activity among university population in Jerash University, Northern Jordan. A cross-sectional survey of (203) university students and employee (147 males and 56 females) aged 20 to 60 years were selected randomly during the spring 2016 semester. Participants filled out a self-reported questionnaire (included questions on eating and physical activity habits). Weights, heights body mass index (BMI) measured. Study results showed that (39.4%) of sample were overweight and (24.1%) were obese. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was more common among males compared to females (40.8% and 25.2% vs. 35.7% and 21.45 respectively). In contrast 12.5% females were under weight compared to 5.4% males. Majority of the sample (68%) reported taking meals irregularly. A total of (64.3%) of the subjects reported the consumption of colored vegetable while (30%) reported eating fruits daily. More than half of both males and females did not eat fast foods. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were higher in males within the age of 20-25 years while in contrast it is higher in females within the age of more than 30 years (36% and 22.5% in males vs. 7.1% and 26% in females). More than one third of the participants did not engage in any sport exercises for at least 30 minutes during the week.

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Journal: Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing

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Journal: Journal of Agricultural Science

Tomatherm is a concentrated suspension liquid composed of polymers, complex water soluble structures that protect the plants mechanically in sensitive and critical growth stages during which the plant undergoes heat stress or drought. The study was conducted in the season year (2009/2010) and in two different sites on irrigated olive trees in Al-Mafraq governorate (Al-Zaatari and Al-Zubaidiah) in Jordan. The experiments in both sites was laded in a Completely Randomize Design (CRD) in 3 replicates and 2 treatments (sprayed + the control) in each replicate. Spraying was done at a rate of one liter (1) of Tomatherm/ 100 liters of water prior to the date of full blooming in late April. Measurements were taken in terms of production, percentage of increase in length of new shoots, weight and size of fruit, pulp and seeds, in comparison between the control and treated ones. Results of the irrigated areas (Al-Za'tari and Al-Zubaidiah) showed an increase in length of the new shoot growth rates significantly by 110% and 175% ,respectively as compared with the control ; while trees productivity increased significantly by about 32% and 39% , respectively. In addition to that weight of fruits and pulps results in the Za'tari area gave an increase by about 8% and 10% , respectively due to the increase in the fruit size rate by 4%. While results of the same measurements at Al-Zubaidiah area didn't affected by Tomatherm application due to the good management done for the olive orchard.

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Journal: (Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS