Digital Commons Network^™

Adsl Deficiency Is A Secondary Mitochondrial Disease Affecting Organelle Homeostasis And Erk2/Akt Signaling In A Linear Genotype-Phenotype Relation, Matteo Bordi, Beatrice Testa, Claudia Compagnucci, Fiorella Colasuonno, Francesca Cipressa, Elisabetta Betterini, Andrea Mancini, Claudia Carsetti, Illari Salvatori, Caterina Ferraina, Ming Yang, Rossella De Cegli, Eugenio Del Prete, Chiara Veroni, Salvatore Rizza, Sofia Mauri, Elena Ziviani, Marina Macchiaiolo, Davide Vecchio, Filippo Maria Panfili, Teresa Rizza, Gerrit Weber, Rosalba Carrozzo, Alberto Ferri, Silvia Campello, Andrea Ballabio, Christian Frezza, Gianluca Cestra, Marco Tartaglia, Andrea Bartuli, Francesco Cecconi

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency (ADSLd) is a rare autosomal recessive purine metabolism disorder with several clinical manifestations. While toxic substrate accumulation is a known hallmark, no additional molecular mechanisms have been established. Here, we show that ADSLd is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including increased fragmentation, impaired respiration, and reduced ATP production. The severity of mitochondrial impairment correlates with ADSLd pathology, especially in mitochondria-dependent tissues. We also identify defects in mitochondrial dynamics and transport linked to ERK2 and AKT suppression. Notably, overexpressing constitutively active ERK2 or supplementing purine intermediates partially rescues the mitochondrial phenotype. These findings suggest an alternative disease mechanism and …

Identifying Independent Predictors Of Malignancy In Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review, Tirath Patel, Jabez David John, Arnesh Shukla, Ayesha Salma, Dev Patel, Anaya Noor, Gayatri Misra, Pragnesh Kalyandrug, Harshitha Nookala, Nikhilesh Anand

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Considering the importance of differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules, this study explores the individual predictors of malignancy. Recent research has focused on individual predictors of isolation, but a comprehensive assessment of these predictors is essential to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes.

Methods: This comprehensive systematic review included seven articles after a rigorous screening of PubMed, PubMed Central, and MEDLINE databases and thus analyzed 1419 patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules using different determinants, such as genetic, biochemical, clinical, radiological, and cytological.

Results: Numerous independent indicators, such as a history of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, multinodular goiter, and past malignant …

The Effect Of Moringa Oleifera Leaves Powder Increasing The Productive Characteristics Of Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio L.) Exposed To Chlorpyrifos, Hamid Hilal Farhan, Abid Ali Thaker, Hazem Sabri Abedalhammed

Baghdad Science Journal

Pesticides are a major global problem because of their effects on living organisms and their bodily functions. This study was conducted from August 25, 2022, to October 25, 2022. It aimed to know the toxic effects of Chlorpyrifos on common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.), and the potential of Moringa oleifera leaves to reduce this toxicity by evaluating their effect on growth performance in fish exposed to the pesticide. The LC50 for Chlorpyrifos has been estimated at 0.60 mg/L over 96 hours. Use 1/10 of the LC50 in the pesticide toxicity test treatment; Moringa leaf powder (MOL) was also added …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Eu-Substituted Bismuth-Based Superconductors Via Chemical Sol-Gel Method, Firas Salim Abed, Lamia K. Abbas

Baghdad Science Journal

The study seeks to investigate the role of Eu substitution in improving the characteristics of bismuth-based superconductors, employing the sol-gel technique as a flexible synthesis methodology. The study is focused on superconductor samples of the composition Bi_1.7-xPb_0.3Eu_xSr_1.9Ba_0.1Ca2Cu3O_10+δ, where x ranged from 0.0 to 0.5 through systematic investigation where the Pb and Ba are maintained at fixed values 0.3 and 0.1 respectively. The influence of partially substituting Eu for Bi on superconducting characteristics was thoroughly explored. Electrical resistivity measurements unveiled a notable enhancement in critical temperature (Tc) with …

Evaluating Climate Sensitivity To Atmospheric Co2 In Basra, Baghdad And Mosul: Iraq, Dalia A. Mahmood, Luma M. Al-Saadi, Monim H. Al-Jiboori

Baghdad Science Journal

Iraq has been suffering from a rising surface air temperature (SAT), causing a general deterioration in ecosystems. Climate sensitivity (CS) which refers to the increase in average SAT caused by a duplication of Carbon Dioxide Concentration [CO₂], was estimated by transient local climate response (TLCR) and equilibrium local CS (ELCS). The time series of the spatial annual averages for both [CO₂] and air temperature were analyzed and a linear regression model was also used to find annual trends in SAT and [CO₂]. Based on historical yearly data for CO₂ concentrations (2003–2016), CO_{2 …}

Evaluating The Mechanical Properties Of Maxillofacial Silicone Enhanced By Hexagonal Boron Nitride Particles, Montather S. Ali, Faiza M. Abdul-Ameer

Baghdad Science Journal

Maxillofacial silicone is the most popular and commonly used material for the construction of maxillofacial prostheses. However, the material failed to satisfy the expected features of a maxillofacial prosthesis due to major limitations, particularly in mechanical properties. The goal of this study is to evaluate the mechanical properties of the VST-50F silicone elastomer with the addition of hexagonal boron nitride (H-BN). A total of 120 specimens were prepared and divided into three groups control and two experimental (0.5 wt% and 0.7 wt% H-BN). Each group was divided into four identical subgroups. For each subgroup, 10 specimens were utilized for each …

Iterative Approximation Of Best Proximity Points Of M-T Cyclic Contraction Mappings, Raghad I. Sabri, Buthainah A. A. Ahmed

Baghdad Science Journal

In many instances, acquiring a solution for an operator equation by using conventional analytical techniques, even after it has been shown that such a solution exists. One has to know the approximate value of this solution to solve situations like these. In order to do this, the operator equation must first be restructured to take the form of a fixed-point equation (FP). On the FP equation, the most convenient iterative method is used, and the limit of the sequence that is created by this algorithm is, in fact, the value of the FP that is sought for the FP equation, …

A New Strategy For Solving The Initial Basic Feasible Solution Of The Transportation Problem Using Exponential Distribution And A New Penalty Model, M. Amreen, Venkateswarlu B

Baghdad Science Journal

One of the key concepts in operations research (OR) is the transportation problem (TP). The transportation problem involves distributing products from several sources to different destinations while minimizing shipping expenses. To achieve minimum transportation costs, the transportation problem is examined in two phases. An initial basic feasible solution (IBFS) is the first phase for achieving the lowest price, with the help of IBFS, one can calculate the optimal solution derived as the second phase. The literature review indicates that the authors developed a novel algorithm for the IBFS, incorporating several mathematical tools and some new models yet possessing certain limitations. …

Towards Efficient And Privacy Preserving Ecg Classification: Federated Transfer Learning Enhanced By Ckks-Based Homomorphic Encryption, Anmar A. Al-Janabi, Sufyan Al-Janabi, Belal Al-Khateeb

Baghdad Science Journal

In healthcare, maintaining both the accuracy and privacy of medical diagnoses collaboratively is a significant challenge. To the best of our knowledge, this research proposes the first end-to-end Privacy-Preserving Federated Transfer Learning (PPFTL) framework for 2-D ECG arrhythmia classification. Incorporating Transfer Learning (TL) narrows the gap between the encrypted and non-encrypted framework versions in the training step. It involves the transformation of raw Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals into 2-D ECG grayscale images. The dataset is disseminated after transformation to images and then fed as input into the local models, where MobileNetV2 serves as a feature extractor. The training process for each …

A Heart Disease Prediction Model Applying Deep Learning And Combined Fuzzy-Mutual Information Based Feature Selection, Annwesha Banerjee Majumder, Somsubhra Gupta, Sourav Majumder, Dharmpal Singh, Sumit Das, Tanusree Saha

Baghdad Science Journal

Despite remarkable advancements in medical technology, cardiovascular disease persists as a significant contributor to global mortality. This research addresses the imperative need for timely disease identification through the proposition of a heart disease prediction model, utilizing a merged 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The main aim of the research is to mitigate the inherent drawbacks of single-layer designs, with a particular emphasis on enhancing hierarchical feature extraction, broadening the model’s receptive fields, and facilitating more efficient non-linear transformations. The dataset has been collected from UCI data repository. The study methodology includes a new feature selection strategy that combines Mutual Information …

Acceptability Of Companion Dog Walking To Improve The Well-Being Of Intensive Care Unit Survivors, Lindsey Nelson

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Intensive care unit (ICU) survivors are at risk for developing post intensive care syndrome (PICS), the physical, cognitive, psychological, and/or social conditions that persist after hospital discharge (Yuan et al., 2021). Current approaches aimed at addressing PICS tend to employ a singular focus on physical health; prevention and treatment strategies focused on the holistic needs of ICU survivors that extend beyond the confines of formal settings and into the community and home are needed (Geense et al., 2019).

A complementary intervention not previously explored in the ICU survivor population is companion dog walking. Companion dogs have been linked to improved …

Community Engagement: It Is All About Relationships!, Jennifer June Anderson

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The ability to generate sustainable, mutually beneficial, interprofessional teams becomes a critical skill for today’s emerging professionals. Interprofessional teams can be developed among community-university partners to bridge the intellectual resources of academe through a model of scaffolding interrelated paradigms. This work will provide a conceptual framework for enhancing community engagement through interprofessional collaborative practices for continuing education programs.

Our Work Is Not Done: Advancing Democratic Engagement As Purpose And Product Of Higher Education, Christopher N. Poulos, Cathy Hamilton, Spoma Jovanovic, Kristin Moretto

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Infusing civic learning into higher education often requires negotiating among competing discourses. In this essay, we argue that our work to advance democratic engagement as the purpose and product of higher education depends on how well, how deeply, and how courageously we can engage with each other and these discourses to meet the many demands that the mandate for civic learning now shoulders.

Everyone Has Humanity In Them: Multidimensional Teaching And Learning Through Philosophy-Based Discussion, Jennifer Cutler Merritt, Loren Intolubbe-Chmil

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

While many K-12 alternative education programs use innovative pedagogy and practice, the students who attend them often remain educationally marginalized. Simultaneously, in higher education, experiential learning courses grounded in the theory of engaged scholarship have frequently cast alternative K-12 students in roles subordinate to those of their college student “helpers.” This paper sets forth a preliminary analysis of a community-university positive youth development model as an asset-based approach promoting mutuality and transformation, in the spirit of Freire’s conscientização.

Education Through Design For Social Empowerment, Lorenzo Imbesi, Luca D'Elia

Learn X Design Conference Series

The critical framework of education through Design-based practices emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning and its role in expanding STEAM education models. This approach leverages enabling technologies, such as digital fabrication tools, to provide transformative educational experiences that address societal challenges. This contribution explores how Design-based educational practices can serve as tools for social empowerment in marginalized communities, specifically examining the integration of STEAM methodologies with digital fabrication technologies to address educational poverty and foster social inclusion. The study discusses a case study focused on eight workshops in Ostia Ponente, where collaboration between universities, local authorities, and social organizations sought to combat …

Outlining The Experience Of A Process-Oriented Practice Towards Foregrounding Entanglements In Design Education, Monja Hirscher

Learn X Design Conference Series

If design is understood in a posthumanist sense as a practice that creates encounters between human and non-human actors, it can be interesting to look at the encounters or entanglements rather than at the things that emerge, as these develop the practitioner in the form of relationships, experiences, and learnings. The text traces the author’s craft-based and process-oriented practice in candy making and observes the situated entanglements that arise in the process, which lead to a proposal of anchor points to reflect on such a practice in educational settings. The individually emerging connections to becoming, bodies, places, times, actors, and …

The Impact Of Walking Without Digital Distractions On Design Creativity, Joao Ferreira

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper aims to understand whether walking without digital distractions can enhance creativity during the ideation process in design education. The study involved ninety-seven third-year undergraduate design students in an experiment examining the relationship between solitude, walking, and ideation. Students were divided into two groups: an experimental group of forty-four students instructed to take walks without mobile phones during the ideation phase of their design process and a control group of fifty-three students who remained in the design studio. Both groups were tasked with generating design solutions for the same brief. Results showed that the experimental group produced ideas with …

The Ongoing Evolution Of Design: New Life Forms, Manuela Maier-Hummel

Learn X Design Conference Series

As our world is getting super-complex and human’s influence creates disastrous effects on our planet, it becomes vital to nurture design-specific, future-oriented knowledge and skills to establish a mediating environment. How can an interdisciplinary design curriculum support the evolution of future-oriented and sustainable ecologies encouraging creative collaboration inventing, rethinking, and recreating the world? This research explores a novel bachelor’s programme between multidisciplinary faculties of Computer Science and Design and Art to educate future information technology and design specialists together. It examines the qualities of Design interweaving with Computer Science merging into a next-level design culture. From a design researcher’s point …

A Post-Anthropocentric Creative Mindset Through Design Education, Eva Monestier, Marita Canina

Learn X Design Conference Series

Planet Earth is experiencing profound and irreversible transformations caused by the ongoing climate crisis. Simultaneously, technological advancements often create a misleading belief that these complex issues can be solved through with simple tech-fixes. However, to address the root causes of unsustainability, a radical shift in mindset is necessary. It is essential to challenge anthropocentric Euromodern narratives based on binary categories (nature-culture, humans-nonhumans), which have historically perpetuated detachment from the environment. Instead, a more relational understanding of reality is needed - one that positions humans and nonhumans within a more-than-human web of life. This shift necessitates the development of new design …

A Study On The Development Of An Educational Board Game For Cultural Heritage Using A Design Thinking Approach, Lung Chieh Chao, Ju-May Wen

Learn X Design Conference Series

This study addresses the pressing challenge of preserving and effectively teaching Indigenous languages and cultures in the context of globalization. Centering on the Paiwan Indigenous culture in Qijia Village, Pingtung County, the research investigates how design thinking can be employed to develop an educational board game that responds to the language learning needs of children. The study adopts the five stages of design thinking: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Through interviews and observations, the needs of students and teachers are identified, and culturally relevant elements are incorporated into the game design to enhance both language acquisition and cultural awareness. …

Designing Design Energetics, Bruce Tharp

Learn X Design Conference Series

This letter is a call to those interested in the future of design and design education, and open to challenging the dominant materialist/physicalist paradigm. With advancements in quantum science, plasma physics, and wave mechanics, new understandings and models have arisen that offer professional and academic opportunities. Design, especially of physical, three-dimensional artifacts, sees objects as essentially vehicles for valuable subjective experience. What are the implications of acknowledging that all matter is actually congealed energy, and that all people are composed of, surrounded by, and affected by frequencies? How might designers better understand and address positive resonances and negative dissonances within …

Reaffirming Learning – A Micro Examination Of Teaching Interventions And Their Connectedness, Noemi Sadowska, Tara Hanrahan

Learn X Design Conference Series

This case study provides a perspective on engaging postgraduate design students in activities exploring eco-social responsibility in relation to their creative practice. It zooms into the roles and learning impacts of a collaborative online space and series of online discussion sessions, which are situated within wider research trialling a system of teaching interventions that positively disrupt the curriculum, as a mechanism for awakening learning around responsible design. It offers insights and reflection on the teaching and learning system, mapping the interconnectivity of its components whilst synthesising discoveries regarding the roles they play in building connections, reaffirming learning and navigating uncertainty.

Exploring Cross-Disciplinary Lessons In Interaction Design Courses, Joshua Pridemore, Molly Briggs, Abigail Chen, Laura Chiaramonte, Rachael Dietkus, Fengzhou Shao, Ben Tairy, Fan Xia, Yiqi Xiao, Amanda Yates

Learn X Design Conference Series

This case study explores the transformative potential of cross-disciplinary approaches in teaching interaction design for social impact. By integrating insights from diverse fields such as trauma-informed design, interactive dance, media theory, and environmental storytelling, the course challenges students to think beyond traditional design practices. Students were encouraged to create projects that not only demonstrated technical and creative expertise but also engaged deeply with emotional, societal, and ethical dimensions of design. The course culminated in a public exhibition where students showcased interactive installations addressing real-world issues, including online safety, animal testing, environmental awareness, and technology addiction. Through a combination of theoretical …

Multilingual Design, Isabel Meirelles, Diane Mikhael, Lesley-Ann Noel, Lesley-Ann Noel

Learn X Design Conference Series

This conversation is an interview between three professors from a university located in a large cosmopolitan city in Canada. The interview to understand the motivation behind the similar approaches of two of the professors. During the conversation, the professors explore the complexity and opportunities for curricula innovation when teaching design in a very diverse context. They explore how themes of pluriversality, multiculturalism, identities, resilience, and how complicated intersectionality and the local context intertwine and have impacted their curricula, and how these themes can inform the design classes. The professors’ focus in the conversation is on pedagogical strategies, specifically, how they …

The Fuzzy Edges Of Online Design Studios, Nicole Lotz, Derek Jones, Tina Deiml-Seibt

Learn X Design Conference Series

This conversation paper draws upon the professional expertise of three designers of educational online studios. By reflecting on the design, development, and use of two online design studios, Incom and ODS, over the past two decades, the research explores the ‘fuzzy edges’ of studio environments. Studio carries rich peripheral information and ambient awareness, enabling studio users to ‘read the room’. This inherently fuzzy yet crucial process facilitates the formation of impressions that guide and sustain social engagement. While a precise definition of this fuzziness remains elusive, key characteristics can be identified: experiential, visible, performative, incomplete, negotiated, and opportunistic, which are …

Unfolding Dialogue: Pedagogies Of Reciprocity And Community In Design, Charlotte Falk, Amanda Huynh

Learn X Design Conference Series

How can dialogue between educators reveal the shared labour and supports that sustain responsive design teaching? What role does dialogic exchange play in shaping and improving the relational work of design educators? In response to the calls for conversation and for teaching statements, this paper formalizes an ongoing dialogue between two emerging industrial design educators. Anchored by the theme Intertwinia: Principles and Methods, we explore shared commitments to adaptability, experimentation, and collaboration in design education. Building on exchanges that began when we first co-taught a course—then evolved through informal studio snapshots, late-night text threads, remote critiques, and cross-institutional, transcontinental conversations—this …

Design Thinking Pedagogy In A Culture Of Information Immediacy, Ahu Yolac, Philip Plowright

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper investigates design thinking pedagogy within the context of information immediacy, analysing student work from the Design Principles studio, an interdisciplinary introductory course for first-year students enrolled in five professional design programs. The course emphasizes foundational design thinking skills, including divergent and convergent thinking, abstraction, coherence, cohesiveness, and the hierarchical organization of project information. Through qualitative analysis of student projects, we identify three distinct patterns of engagement: procedural application, emerging integration, and flexible, critical workflow. These patterns reveal how students navigate and internalize design thinking tactics in an era of abundant information and digital tools. We discuss the pedagogical …

Connectedness In Design Learning Experience – A Qualitative Study Using Nvivo Analysis, Christy Gogu

Learn X Design Conference Series

Design being a collaborative field, often requires designers to engage with people from multi-disciplinary backgrounds to bring a concept from sketch to product or service. Social connectedness has been reported to help in this collaboration within and between teams. A design learning environment that promotes perceived social connectedness can aid future designers to cultivate greater collaboration and empathy that is essential for a user-centred approach to designing. This research was conducted to study the role of social connectedness in learning experience from the design educators’, students’ as well as practicing designers’ perspectives. Qualitative data collection was done with 35 semi-structured …

Intertwining Briefs: Reflecting On The Craft Of Design Studio Briefs, Ricardo Sosa, Enya Moore, Jody Watts, Nina Hansopaheluwakan, Rodrigo Hernandez Ramirez, Yaron Meron

Learn X Design Conference Series

Design briefs are widely used in professional practice and design education, serving as key means for communication and learning. This paper explores the functions of design briefs in educational settings, drawing on the collective insights of experienced design educators. Through a series of case studies and collaborative reflections, the paper identifies five key themes: briefing as a relational process, the agency of learners, skills or practice, positionality and values, and briefs for scaffolding. The study also critically examines the potential of generative AI tools for effective brief development, demonstrating their applicability through a hands-on exercise. The findings underscore the need …

Designing The World Precedes Designing The Word: The Paulo Freire Method Applied To Typography Education, Hiền L.D. Phan, Azadeh Jalali, Frederick M. C. Van Amstel

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper describes a critical pedagogy design experiment in typography education in a public university in the United States of America. Inspired by Paulo Freire’s claim that reading the world precedes reading the word, typography was reframed in this experiment as a designing of the world through designing the word. To design words this way, graphic design students need first to re-read the designs of their worlds, have something to say about that, and then critically embed their (designed) word into their (designed) world. This experiment builds upon the critical design pedagogy program set forth by the Design & Oppression …