Towards New Horizons of Knowledge Integration and Sustainable Innovation

Dear Readers, Researchers, Innovators, and Decision-Makers,

We are pleased to welcome you to a new issue of the Syrian Journal of Science and Innovation. This issue comes at a time of exceptional research momentum, driven by growing efforts to harness technology and applied sciences in the service of society and to develop innovative solutions to some of the most complex technological, environmental, and economic challenges facing us today.

The fundamental philosophy underpinning our journal extends beyond the mere dissemination of knowledge. It seeks to highlight the integration of knowledge across diverse sectors and promote hybrid solutions that combine human insight with machine intelligence, ultimately contributing to sustainable development and the protection of critical infrastructure. This issue features a distinguished collection of studies that reflect this vision through practical and applied research.

In an increasingly digital world, cybersecurity has emerged as a paramount priority in safeguarding systems and institutions. In this context, this issue highlights a critical security gap associated with the human element through a novel study presenting a hybrid system that combines rule-based approaches with machine learning techniques to detect social engineering attacks. The study demonstrates that purely technological solutions cannot operate effectively in isolation from user empowerment and the enhancement of digital awareness. It presents an innovative model for real-time threat blocking, achieving promising levels of statistical accuracy.

Extending the scope of digital innovation to the protection of interconnected systems, another study takes us into the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, exploring ways to enhance the security of the Internet of Things (IoT) through an innovative hybrid architecture built around three complementary components. The first involves generating dynamic cryptographic keys inspired by the complex geometry of spider webs; the second employs Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for data compression; and the third utilizes Blockchain technology to ensure data integrity and counter Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. This research demonstrates a noteworthy balance between robust security protection and energy efficiency in wireless networks.

Innovation in our journal, however, is not confined to the digital realm; it also extends to the fields of construction, the environment, and occupational health. This issue presents a pioneering engineering and environmental study evaluating the effects of incorporating industrial zeolite into Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) as a sustainable alternative to conventional hot mix asphalt. The research opens up important practical prospects for the local construction sector by reducing production temperatures, thereby generating direct energy savings and significantly reducing harmful gaseous emissions, ultimately contributing to environmental protection and safeguarding workers’ health.

As part of our commitment to nature-based sustainable environmental solutions, we conclude this issue’s research highlights with an applied biological study investigating the relationship between the physiological growth traits of sunflower plants and their heavy metal uptake under field-contamination conditions. This study provides an important foundational reference for phytoremediation programmes targeting contaminated soils in northwestern Syria. It introduces simple, low-cost predictive models based on leaf area and stem length to estimate phytoremediation efficiency before resorting to more complex laboratory analyses.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The rich diversity of research featured in this issue—from artificial intelligence algorithms and cybersecurity to Blockchain and the Internet of Things, and from sustainable construction materials to biological approaches to environmental remediation—reaffirms the capacity of Syrian and local scientific minds to innovate and deliver solutions with practical, field-level applications, despite the challenges they face.

We hope that readers will find in this issue a valuable source of inspiration and knowledge. We reaffirm our commitment at the Syrian Journal of Science and Innovation to continuing our mission as a platform that bridges innovative ideas and meaningful practical applications.

We aspire for continued success and advancement in our endeavours

Damascus 5/11/2026

         Chief Editor

Prof. Dr. Nabil Kochaji

From Knowledge to Impact

Today, the progress of nations is measured by their ability to generate knowledge and harness it to address the challenges facing individuals and society. Scientific research is no longer merely a means of enriching theoretical knowledge or increasing academic output; rather, it has become a strategic instrument for developing solutions, supporting evidence-based decision-making, improving quality of life, and advancing sustainable development. From this perspective, the true value of research lies not in the number of published studies, but in the tangible impact of their findings and their ability to transform ideas into practical applications that serve society.

The world is witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in scientific and technological advancement, where disciplines increasingly intersect and knowledge domains become more integrated. Health, engineering, environmental, and technological challenges can no longer be addressed within the boundaries of a single discipline. Instead, they require multidisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of expertise across diverse scientific fields. In this context, innovation emerges as the natural outcome of such integration, transforming research findings into practical solutions that respond to real-world needs and keep pace with rapid global developments.

From this standpoint, the Syrian Journal of Science and Innovation believes that its mission extends beyond providing a platform for publishing scientific research. It is equally committed to fostering a culture of rigorous scholarship, encouraging studies that combine scientific originality with practical relevance, and strengthening the connection between academic knowledge and the needs of society and its institutions. The Journal value scientific research as both an intellectual responsibility and a catalyst for development, striving to publish work distinguished by methodological rigor, innovation, and practical applicability.

This issue reflects this vision through a collection of studies covering diverse fields, including health sciences, engineering, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and analytical chemistry. Despite their disciplinary diversity, these contributions share a common objective: providing scientific solutions to real-world challenges. From developing more efficient diagnostic and analytical tools to applying intelligent algorithms for infrastructure optimization, supporting healthcare planning, and enhancing the security of digital applications, these studies demonstrate that genuine innovation begins with a clear understanding of a problem and reaches its full value when knowledge is translated into meaningful impact.

Guided by this stand, the Journal will continue to strengthen the quality of scholarly publishing, adhere to the highest editorial standards and best publishing practices, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and support researchers dedicated to producing original knowledge with scientific and societal value. The Editorial Board remains committed to the continuous development of the Journal in line with internationally recognized standards of academic publishing, thereby enhancing its scientific standing and serving researchers both within Syria and internationally.

Finally, we extend our sincere appreciation to the researchers who have chosen the Syrian Journal of Science and Innovation as the venue for disseminating their scholarly work, to the distinguished reviewers whose expertise has contributed significantly to enhancing the quality of the published articles, and to everyone who supports scientific research and believes that knowledge is not an end in itself, but a means of building a more prosperous and sustainable future.

We firmly believe that every rigorous scientific study represents another step toward progress, and that the accumulation of knowledge—when coupled with innovation and responsibility—is the true pathway to transforming ideas into achievements and knowledge into impact.

We aspire for continued success and advancement in our endeavours

 

Damascus 5/8/2026

         Chief Editor

Prof. Dr. Nabil Kochaji

In light of rapid global transformations, scientific research and technological development have become fundamental pillars for advancement and building a knowledge-based economy.

Syria today faces a pivotal stage that requires harnessing its human resources, particularly its youth, within a comprehensive national framework that fosters innovation and is aligned with development needs.

Achieving the desired progress hinges on creating environments conducive to creativity, strengthening good governance, and integrating the roles of scientific institutions and productive sectors.

This issue of the Science, Technology and Innovation Journal comes in line with these trends, as it includes studies that address advanced engineering issues in describing concrete structures using modern technologies, precise analytical chemical research in identifying elements within aqueous solutions, in addition to an applied medical study that highlights innovative treatment techniques for scoliosis cases, as well as research in the field of information security that addresses the challenges of protecting the government cloud computing network within the national context.

This diversity of perspectives reflects the integration of knowledge across engineering, medicine, chemistry, and technology, and underscores the importance of interdisciplinary research in addressing contemporary challenges. In presenting this issue, we acknowledge the efforts of the researchers who contributed to it and reaffirm our commitment to elevating the journal to remain a reputable scientific platform that keeps pace with developments, supports innovation, and contributes to building a knowledge-based society.

We aspire for continued success and advancement in our endeavors.

Chief Editor| Nabil Nader Kochaji

I am honored to present to our esteemed readers the third issue of the third volume of our journal. This edition continues the journal’s mission of promoting scientific research and innovation, thereby reinforcing its status as a premier platform for scientists and researchers in Syria and the Arab world.

The journal remains dedicated to facilitating communication among creative minds and providing a clear perspective on the most recent advancements in the fields of science and technology. We aim for this scientific platform to serve as a dependable reference, contributing to the establishment of a knowledge-driven society and enhancing the visibility of Syrian and Arab researchers on the global stage.

This issue includes four distinguished research articles, each reflecting the richness of academic inquiry and diverse areas of interest:

1. **A Gaussian Pyramid Framework for Enhancing Multiclass Support Vector Machines** – This study introduces innovative approaches in non-classification and machine learning methodologies.

2. **Enhancing Performance and Stability of MAML for Few-Shot Sentiment Analysis:** – This article elucidates the role of Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning (MAML) in sentiment analysis.

3. **LLM-Agent+: A Modular Framework for Intelligent Agents with Reasoning Trace Compression and Tool-Augmented Memory** – This work presents a standardized framework for intelligent agents, marking a significant advancement in the development of smarter and more efficient systems.

4. **Recognizing Events in Videos Using Deep Learning Techniques** – This article underscores the significance of artificial intelligence in processing non-visual data and interpreting complex contexts.

In presenting this issue, we acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the researchers involved and reaffirm our commitment to establishing the Syrian Journal of Science and Innovation as a leading source of knowledge, a promoter of research and development, and a supportive environment for the exchange of ideas and innovations.

We aspire for continued success and advancement in our endeavors.

While politics dominated the Syrian scene for the past 14 years, Syrian researchers and university professors are looking forward for a new era, where science prevails, after decades of ignoring the importance of this sector in the past, and the only few and insufficient steps made by the previous Syrian administration to promote education and scientific research.
Ambitious Syrian under- and post-graduate students deserve the best education and best curricula. Nonetheless, Syrian researchers at universities and research centers also deserve continuous support from the new administration, enhancing the enabling environment, including appropriate infrastructure and enabling legislative laws.
Nonetheless, it is also a mandate of expatriate Syrian researchers to give a hand, especially when all obstacles are removed. Indeed, at least hundreds of Syrian PhD holders fled Syria in the past two decades and never went back home due to many reasons, and now it is an opportunity for them to help and contribute to improving education at Syrian universities as well as supporting the research infrastructure.
This was the main aim of the higher commission for scientific research (HCSR) for organizing six Syrian expatriate researchers annual conferences in the past years. We do hope that the new Syrian administration would benefit from, and build upon, the highly professional HCSR experience, communicating with Syrian researchers abroad and paving the way for them to maximize the benefit of their thrilling efforts for promoting scientific research in the new Syria.

No doubt we live in a world dominated by technology; communication turned easier, accessible knowledge at our fingertips, AI performs everyday tasks, improved healthcare, work became available from home or everywhere in many cases,  easy shopping, etc.

However, with this bloomed  picture, comes serious threats of technology domination and control of our lives. In fact, generative AI per se threatens tens of careers and professions, not to mention the danger of becoming out of control in certain domains. The “bad” face of technology appears in many military applications that use high tech in destruction and killing. Likewise, technology burst has an eminent social impact, where poor countries become poorer while rich countries become richer, expanding the already vast gap between the two.

For Syria, striving hard to come out more than a decade of military and economical war, technology transfer suffered from many hurdles, including tech embargo and dwindling national economy. Nevertheless, the number of experts in many technology domains decreased. Hence, it is a crucial mandate for Syrian officials to put exceptional efforts to compensate for that loss. Boosting R&D activities at Syrian universities and research centers is the first and most important step, since relevant indicators clearly show a straightforward correlation between R&D activities and the ability for adapting frontier technologies.

The Syrian Journal for Science and Innovation (SJSI) was a humble attempt to shed light on Syrian innovative research in various sectors. After one and a half years since SJSI commencement, the journal succeeded in attracting solid Syrian researchers and was able to publish six consecutive issues in addition to one special issue, despite all unenthusiastic environment, nationally and regionally. In reality, we are very proud of the continuity of this journal and the knowledge accumulated since the first issue, hoping SJSI continues to nourish in the coming years as a valued tool for disseminating knowledge created at Syrian academic and research centers.

The national science, technology and innovation STI system in Syria consists of several universities and research centers in addition to technological productive and service, and intermediate and supporting institutions. However, this system suffers from weak relationship, interconnection, cooperation and coordination among its components for various reasons, assuring the need for building solid structures for technology transfer.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that one of the initial and necessary steps in order to invest in scientific research outputs is to protect their intellectual property (IP). In fact, there is no unified system in Syria for protecting IPs, and official responsibility for it is divided between two entities; the Directorate for Commercial and Industrial Property Protection, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, and the Copyright Protection Department, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture. Nevertheless, this role is absent at universities and other research centers, where there is no formal intellectual property policies. Hence, there is an eminent need to strengthen the ecosystem for IP protection, including the direct institutions responsible for IP granting, as well as the recognition and adherence of researchers and university students to the IP granting rules.

In this regard, the higher commission for scientific research HCSR has recently prepared an invaluable guide, entitled “A Guiding Procedures for Protecting and Investing in Scientific Research Outputs“, which primarily targets our researchers and graduate students at Syrian universities and research centers, to facilitate their acquaintance with the applicable and closely related laws and decisions collected in this guide, and to enhance the protection of intellectual property for their research outputs in preparation for investing in them and building a knowledge-based society.

The guide highlights the research outputs that researchers can protect, the procedures that must be followed in order to protect the intellectual property of these outputs, and some of the procedures for investing in them, relying in all of this on the laws, decisions and procedures in force in the Syrian Arab Republic. Additionally, the guide provides our distinguished researchers and graduate students at Syrian universities with an accurate and detailed description of the procedures that they must follow to protect and preserve the IPs of their research outputs, in preparation for their optimal investment, and strengthening national knowledge-based economy.

Finally, the guide has been divided into two chapters: the first is concerned with protecting the intellectual property of types of research outputs, and the second is concerned with investing in them. In this guide, we have also adopted the classification of scientific research outcomes into three types: applied idea – applied protocol – and prototype.

Note: the guide was prepared by Ms. Lamees Ismael, the executive director of the Syrian Journal for Science and innovation.

For five consequent years, the Higher Commission for Scientific Research (HCSR) has held the Syrian Expatriate Researcher Conference (SERC) starting in 2019, with slogan “Toward a Syrian knowledge-based economy”. This event is where Syrian Researchers from all over the world meet physically or virtually to discuss science and propose different ways to develop productive and service sectors in Syria contributing to rebuilding. This year, the sixth version of SERC will be held in Damascus between 29 and 31 July 2024. Since 2019, SERC has turned into an annual scientific forum where close to 100 expatriate Syrian researchers from over 25 countries meet and discuss science with hundreds of their counterparts who work at Syrian universities and research centers, exchanging ideas and expertise in multidisciplinary sessions and topics, and shedding light onto novel advancement in frontier technologies including nanotechnology, biotechnology, ICT, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, environment, construction, etc. SERC also underscored the eagerness of Syrian expatriate researchers to offer the knowledge they have to help repair the severely damaged infrastructure and contribute to the urgent need for the rebuilding of Syria. In fact, SERC is an opportunity for both Syrian officials as well as researchers abroad. The former should provide whatever it takes to facilitate the return of those Syrian intellectuals back home, or at least guarantee their sustainable contribution to the advancement of science in Syria. The latter though, including thousands of researchers and scientists who left Syria before and after the crisis, should continue to support regardless of their political, social, or economical stand … for both parties, it is an opportunity to help and preserve pride and dignity!  

The importance of investing in knowledge is particularly evident in countries whose natural resources have been depleted because of many reasons. The role of the intellectual capital it possesses is clear, capable of compensating for these material losses through its knowledge products. This clearly applies to the Syrian situation, after more than a decade of military, political and economic wars. It is self-evident that investing in knowledge leads to improvements in technology, efficiency, productivity and economic growth, and paves the way for knowledge transformation in various sectors of the country through research, scientific development and innovation activities. I will here highlight once again the importance of knowledge and technology transfer system that the higher Commission for Scientific Research (HCSR) recently led the work to establish. The system consists of three components; the first component is the technology transfer offices at universities and research centers. Its main short-term goal is to evaluate research outputs completed at research institutions in terms of their applicability and economic feasibility and stimulate the protection of their intellectual property in coordination with the concerned parties. The second component includes R&D departments at state ministries, and later at affiliated or associated companies and business sector institutions. Its main goal is to review the needs for developing production and service sectors and stimulate the conduct of research that meets those needs. Finally, the two previous components are coordinated by a third component represented by the National Office for Technology Transfer NTTO established at HCSR, which links the entities that generate and invest in knowledge. In fact, the past three months have witnessed a number of activities closely related to the technology transfer system. The most important of which was the workshop organized by HCSR to launch the newly established R&D departments in a number of state ministries. This indeed completed the components of the technology transfer system, the first pillar of which was laid down by HCSR in cooperation with the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in a unique report published back in 2020. In addition, NTTO held two important workshops in cooperation with the Universities of Aleppo and Tishreen on enhancing the investment of the research outputs of university professors and postgraduate students at both universities. The two workshops were accompanied by two exhibitions that included a large number of research outputs in the presence of business sector representatives. HCSR will coordinate to organize similar workshops at various other universities. Because we do not ignore the saying: “Happy endings start with new beginnings”, HCSR recently launched the“Researcher’s Guide to Conducting Developmental Scientific Research”. This guide leads researchers and walks with them step by step in conducting their research, starting from choosing the research idea, passing through the initial plan for the research, and arriving at to its primary document, with a self-evaluation form to measure its importance for development. During its last meeting, The National Technology Transfer Committee NTTC formed at HCSR also approved the report entitled “Guiding Procedures for Protecting and Investing Scientific Research Outputs,” which guides researchers through multiple paths to enhance the investment of their research outputs. We do hope that this recently established technology transfer system will be effective in translating the knowledge enhanced at Syrian universities and research centers into products and outputs that aid in the eagerly needed development.