The Annonaceous acetogenins are promising new antitumor and pesticidal agents that are found only in the plant family Annonaceae. Chemically, they are derivatives of long-chain fatty acids. Biologically, they exhibit their potent bioactivities through depletion of ATP levels via inhibiting complex I of mitochondria and inhibiting the NADH oxidase of plasma membranes of tumor cells. Thus, they thwart ATP-driven resistance mechanisms. This review presents the progress made in the chemistry, biology, and development of these compounds since December 1995.

Vaccines are effective interventions that can reduce the high burden of diseases globally. However, public vaccine hesitancy is a pressing problem for public health authorities. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, little information is available on the public acceptability and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines in Jordan. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors in addition to the attitudes towards these vaccines among public in Jordan. An online, cross-sectional, and self-administered questionnaire was instrumentalized to survey adult participants from Jordan on the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines. Logistic regression analysis was used to find the predictors of COVID-19 vaccines’ acceptability. A total of 3,100 participants completed the survey. The public acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines was fairly low (37.4%) in Jordan. Males (OR = 2.488, 95CI% = 1.834–3.375, p < .001) and those who took the seasonal influenza vaccine (OR = 2.036, 95CI% = 1.306–3.174, p = .002) were more likely to accept COVID-19 vaccines. Similarly, participants who believed that vaccines are generally safe (OR = 9.258, 95CI% = 6.020–14.237, p < .001) and those who were willing to pay for vaccines (OR = 19.223, 95CI% = 13.665–27.042, p < .001), once available, were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. However, those above 35 years old (OR = 0.376, 95CI% = 0.233–0.607, p < .001) and employed participants (OR = 0.542, 95CI% = 0.405–0.725, p < .001) were less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, participants who believed that there was a conspiracy behind COVID-19 (OR = 0.502, 95CI% = 0.356–0.709, p < .001) and those who do not trust any source of information on COVID-19 vaccines (OR = 0.271, 95CI% = 0.183–0.400, p < .001), were less likely to have acceptance towards them. The most trusted sources of information on COVID-19 vaccines were healthcare providers. Systematic interventions are required by public health authorities to reduce the levels of vaccines’ hesitancy and improve their acceptance. We believe these results and specifically the low rate of acceptability is alarming to Jordanian health authorities and should stir further studies on the root causes and the need of awareness campaigns. These interventions should take the form of reviving the trust in national health authorities and structured awareness campaigns that offer transparent information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and the technology that was utilized in their production.

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Angiogenesis is defined as the physiological process by which new blood vessels develop from pre-existing vessels; either by sprouting or intussusception. Inhibition of angiogenesis is one of the most encouraging strategies to manage the growth and metastasis of cancers. The functional and proliferative status of blood vessels is regulated by the balance between various key molecules that either stimulate or inhibit angiogenesis. During quiescence, the "angiogenic switch" is "off". However, during tumour development pro-angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic and acidic fibroblast growth factor, tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1 are pathologically enhanced. Persistent growth of tumour directed capillary networks creates a favourable microenvironment, promoting cancer growth, progression and metastasis. VEGF, particularly VEGF-A, is a key angiogenic factor. Targeting VEGF, its receptors and the downstream signaling cascade, is a viable strategy to prevent tumour growth and metastasis. The present review discusses the role of VEGF in tumour angiogenesis and the current understanding of anti-VEGF therapies as well as refractoriness of anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy.

As part of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) program to study Jordan's biodiversity, the relative levels of antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content of aqueous and methanolic extracts of a total of 95 plant species, all of Jordanian origin and those collected at random, have been measured. The total phenolic content of aqueous and methanolic extracts of the investigated plant species ranged from 4.4 to 78.3 mg and from 2.1 to 52.8 mg gallic acid equivalents g -1 dry weight, respectively, while the total antioxidant capacity ranged from 20.0 to 916.7 and from 15.1 to 915.6 μmol Trolox equivalents g -1 dry weight, respectively. Based on this collection, approximately 5% of assayed plants showed high levels of antioxidant activity. There was a significant linear correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for aqueous and methanolic extracts, suggesting that phenolic compounds were the predominant antioxidant components in the investigated plant species. Interestingly, a few of the collected plants had high-antioxidant activity yet "low" phenolic content includes Ceratonia siliqua and Viscum cruciatum. These plants may serve as sources of antioxidants with new chemotypes.