Digital Commons Network^™

Influence Of Adding Clay In Removing Nitrate From Groundwater By Zerovalent Iron, Maan Bitar, Muhammad Haitham Haboub, Nawzat Nebghali

Baghdad Science Journal

The method of removing nitrates from water using zero-valent metals is one of the methods that proves to be highly effective day after day, especially zero-valent iron. However, the most prominent obstacles that cause an obstacle to continuing its use are the exposure of its surface to passivation during the reaction and the production of ammonium ions as a main product for the reduction of nitrates under conditions of treatment. In this research, the effect of clay during the removal of nitrate by Fe⁰ was studied. Raw clay, acid-activated clay, and clay modified with iron nanoparticles at a ratio …

Catalytic Innovation For Renewable Energy: Tio2-Supported Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Catalyst For Eco-Friendly Biodiesel Synthesis, Vivi Sisca, Syukri, Zilfa, Novesar Jamarun, Denny Akbar Tanjung, Ahmad Hafizullah Ritonga, Dicky Annas, Khoiriah Khoiriah, Poedji Loekitowati Hariani

Baghdad Science Journal

Biodiesel produced through transesterification reactions with homogeneous and heterogeneous base catalysts is a promising alternative energy source. This study uses Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) enriched with TiO₂ to produce biodiesel from waste vegetable oil. The synthesized catalyst was comprehensively identified through XRD, XRF, SEM, BET, and FT-IR analyses and then applied in the transesterification reaction. The results showed that PCC enriched with TiO₂ is an effective catalyst, producing biodiesel with an efficiency of 95.09% under optimal conditions: 5 wt% catalyst, a methanol to oil ratio of 6:1, a reaction temperature of 65°C, and a reaction time of 4 …

Optimization Of Wood Vinegar From Cacao Pod Shells By Response Surface Methodology, Hera Desvita, Muhammad Faisal, Mahidin, Suhendrayatna

Baghdad Science Journal

The purpose of this study is to find the optimal conditions for producing wood vinegar from cacao pod shells using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Box Behnken Design (BBD) was used to optimize the variables of pyrolysis times, temperature, and particle size. Wood vinegar was prepared by slow pyrolysis technology. The RSM with three design variables including pyrolysis duration at 50, 75, and 100 minutes; pyrolysis temperatures at 300°C, 340°C, and 380°C; and particle size of 3, 5 and 7 cm with 15 runs were applied. Chemical characterization of wood vinegar was performed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The results …

Comparative Study Of Chemical And Green Preparation Of Mesoporous Silica, Sara K. Dawood, Sameer H. Kareem

Baghdad Science Journal

The present research includes a comparative study of preparing mesoporous silica using two different methods: the chemical method and the green method. The sol-gel method was used using sodium silicate (glass water) as a cheap source of silica and the cationic-type surfactant (Hydroxylethyl, 2-Hydroxylcetyl (2-Dimethyl ammonium chloride) in the chemical method, and Zyziphus Spina Christi (Sider tree) tree leaf extract in the green method, as a soft template. The mesoporous silica prepared using the two methods were compared by characterizing them using different methods: measuring surface area by BET method and porosity by BJH, XRD, SAXRD, AFM, FTIR, SEM, and …

Synthesis, Characterization And Studying Thermal Analysis For Complexes Of Some Metal Ions And Determining Their Activity As Antioxidants, Rasha Khider Hussain Al-Daffay, Abbas Ali Salih Al-Hamdani, Emran Abduljabbar Emran Elluhaibi

Baghdad Science Journal

According to previous studies, a new azo ligand (N-(3-acetyl-2-hydroxy-5-methyl-phenyl)N-(4-carboxy-cyclohexylmethyl)-diazonium salt) was prepared and after verifying the proposed formula according to the results of the analyzes and after using Ligand to prepare a series of complexes using equal molar ratios (1:1) of the ligand and its reaction with each of the salts of manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc, and after verification according to spectroscopic (ultraviolet and infrared) and diagnostic analysis techniques, which gave tetrahedral shapes for all complexes in a neutral formula, and the ligand is tridentate (NOO) related to azo, ketonic and phenolic hydroxyl group, respectively. Then, the thermal …

Evaluation Of Sod And Mda Levels With The Cytotoxicity Of Some Plant Extracts Toward Human Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Lines, Kadhim K. Ghudhaib, Fayhaa M. Khaleel

Baghdad Science Journal

Cytotoxicity of plant extracts has attracted more attention in the last years to assess their activities against tumor cells. Cancer chemoprevention focuses on plant extracts to be toxic toward tumor cell lines without affecting normal cells. The current study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of ginger; olive leaf extracts and their mixture against Rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines (RD cell lines) and oxidative stress in terms of both Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Malondialdehyde (MDA). Alcoholic extracts of both ginger and olive leaves were obtained by Soxhlet method. The third extract was prepared by mixing equal quantities from both ginger and olive leaf …

Adsorption Of Indigo Carmine Dye On Chitosan Grafted Poly (Methyl Methacrylate), Faiq F. Karam, Karar A. Alwan

Baghdad Science Journal

This study investigated the adsorption of indigo carmine dye (a chemical considered to be a pollutant in water) onto chitosan nanocomposite grafted with methyl methacrylate (Ch-g-PMMA) polymer. Absorption values are found for solutions at different conditions of concentration, temperature, weight and acidity. The adsorption process was studied to choose the best weight of the compound from 0.01–0.07. It showed that the largest amount of dye adsorbed on the surface of the triple composite was at pH = 4. The results of the effect of ionic strength on the process of absorption of salts (sodium chloride, calcium carbonate) were also presented. …

Study Of The Toxicity And Cell Viability Of Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared From An Extract Of The Vitex Agnus Castus Plant, Saba H. Mahdi, Lekaa K. Abdul Karem

Baghdad Science Journal

In the current study, ZrO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized using a plant extract derived from Vitex agnus castus, and an alkaline medium such as sodium hydroxide. A biosynthetic approach was utilized to prepare zirconium oxide nanoparticles for this research project. This method stands out from others due to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and lack of potential risks.The prepared samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy TEM, scanning electron microscopy SEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FT-IR, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy UV-VIS, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy EDX. The size of the crystal was determined using X-ray diffraction in conjunction with the Debye-Scherer equation, …

Adsorption And Photocatalytic Of Biosynthesis Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles For Removing Acid Black 210 Dye From Aqueous Medium, Zahraa A. Najm, Mohammed A. Atiya, Ahmed K. Hassan

Baghdad Science Journal

This study treated Acid black 210 dye contaminated textile wastewater by adsorption and photocatalytic techniques using zinc ferrite nanoparticles. Zinc ferrite nanoparticles were formed by the green synthesis technique using eucalyptus leaves as reducing and capping agents. SEM, EDAX, XRD, BET, Zeta potential, and FTIR techniques identified the resulting zinc ferrite nanoparticles. The images from the SEM indicated the crystallinity and spherical shape of the zinc ferrite nanoparticles with a particle size of 32 nm. In addition, this study involved using a photoreactor to accomplish the photo-degradation process. Effect of the main factors on the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of …

Effects Of Ultrasonic Treatment And Hydrogen Donor Addition On The Viscosity Of Iraqi Heavy Crude Oil, Athraa W. Azeez, Hussein Q. Hussein

Baghdad Science Journal

The current investigation examines the combined impacts of ultrasonic radiation and hydrogen donors on the viscosity of heavy crude oil. The impact of exposure time, power, duty cycle, and temperature on the viscosity of Iraqi heavy crude oil with 20.32 API was studied. Also, the viscosity of the oil samples, which were mixed with a hydrogen donor (decalin) and subjected to ultrasonic treatment under optimal conditions, was examined to evaluate the combined impact of ultrasonic radiation and hydrogen donor on the viscosity of crude oil. The viscosity experienced a decrease of 52.34% at 2 min of irradiation, 360 W ultrasonic …

Principals’ Perceptions Of Covid-19 Learning Strategies’ Influence On Reading Achievement In Title I Urban Elementary Schools, Kadian Alicia Grant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly intensified reading achievement challenges among Title I urban elementary school students. There was a need to understand the impact of district-implemented strategies to improve reading achievement during the pandemic. Guided by Fullan’s educational change theory, this qualitative case study explored principals’ perceptions of the influence of district strategies on reading achievement implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2021–2022 school year, particularly in Title I urban elementary schools. The study specifically aimed to explore (a) principals’ perceptions of the influence of lesson acceleration, (b) principals’ perceptions of the influence of personalized learning, and (c) challenges …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Re-Imagining Tomorrow: A Technology, Innovation Law, And Ethics Symposium On Addictive Technology And Children, Margaret Chon

Seattle University Law Review

In this Foreword, Professor Margaret Chon introduces Seattle University's Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) program, the 2024 TILE Symposium, and Dr. Gaia Bernstein’s Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies.

Keynote Address: The Movement To Protect Kids From Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, I describe my personal journey starting with a school outreach program I created in 2017 to address technology overuse among kids. While I initially advocated for self-help methods, I grew to recognize that the tech industry bore responsibility. This realization led me to write Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, which focused on collective action to pressure the tech industry to redesign its addictive products.

I then describe the movement to control addictive technologies and protect kids, which has gained momentum since the end of the pandemic. This movement combines grassroots parent activism with legal-political action. …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Seattle University Law Review

Alcohol, automobiles, guns, lottery, loot boxes, meat, music, opioid painkillers, processed foods, prop bets, slot machines, television, tobacco, violent video games. Over the last century each of these has been subject to concerns—some might even say “moral panics”—from parents and policymakers about avoidable harms to kids and adults. In some cases we look back with the benefit of hindsight and dismiss those concerns as naïve or moralistic. In others we look back at them as justified or as having come too late to check an expanding industry before it did unfathomable harm while growing so powerful that it became all …

Responding To Digital Addiction, Ned Snow

Seattle University Law Review

In Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, Professor Gaia Bernstein calls our attention to the growing problem of digital addiction. Digital addiction may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel or something that does not raise the same sort of real-life practical concerns as are present in a physical health crisis or an economic decline. But as Bernstein presents the evidence, we learn that the consequences of digital addiction can be just as harmful as a serious disease or a financial depression. Cognitive development disorders, anxiety, emotional depression, social isolation, and other mental health ills can be debilitating—as much …

The Ai Doppelgänger Dilemma: Cloned Voices In The Music Industry, Elizabeth Shields

Seattle University Law Review

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an influx of “voice clones”—deep-learning algorithms that create synthetic speech to realistically mimic human voices. Celebrities and, in particular, music artists, have been subjected to the proliferation of AI voice clones on social media platforms like TikTok and streaming platforms such as Spotify. Despite music utilizing AI voice clones having amassed much popularity, this technology can be harmful and highly invasive to musicians whose livelihoods often depend on their distinct voices. While legal scholars have attempted to articulate various rights that could protect a person’s voice, individuals are largely …

A Century Of Depicting Characters With Disabilities In Newbery Award And Honor Books, Merna Kay Raines

Theses and Dissertations

A Century of Depicting Characters With Disabilities in Newbery Award and Honor Books Merna Kay Raines Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, BYU Educational Specialist Between 1922 and 2021, 426 books received the Newbery Award, with 64 books featuring characters with disabilities. However, it was not until 1931 that the Newbery Honor Award was given to recognize the author of a book featuring a character with disabilities. Newbery Award-winning books are considered quality literature and are found in most libraries and classrooms. Understanding the portrayal of characters with disabilities is important because students easily access these books. This content …

Trpm2 Overactivation Drives Hyperlipidemia-Induced Dysfunction Of Myeloid Cells And Neurovascular Units., Pengyu Zong, Cindy Li, Jianlin Feng, Zhichao Yue, Nicholas Legere, Albert S Yu, Fahad Shah, Adrianna Perez, Zhu Li, Evan Jellison, Yasuo Mori, Barbara Miller, Rajkumar Verma, Bruce Liang, Lixia Yue

Faculty Research 2025

Hyperlipidemia induces cellular dysfunction and is strongly linked to various diseases. The transient receptor potential channel melastatin 2 (TRPM2) plays a critical role in endothelial injury, immune cell activation, and neuronal death. We reveal that TRPM2 expression in human peripheral leukocytes strongly correlates with plasma lipid levels. In middle-aged Apoe/ mice, global, myeloid, and endothelial TRPM2 knockout or TRPM2 inhibition abolishes the hyperlipidemia-induced exacerbation of ischemic brain injury suggesting that TRPM2 overactivity caused by hyperlipidemia predisposes these cells to dysfunction during ischemia. Using a clinically relevant ischemic brain injury mouse model, we demonstrate TRPM2’s pivotal role in medi- ating hyperlipidemia’s …

Electromagnetic Therapy Potential Tool For Improving Dairy Herd Health, Nicholas Gosling

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Let The Sunshine In: Crafting Constitutional Transparency Regulations For Content Moderation, Caitlin Ring Carlson

Seattle University Law Review

In response to public concern about the impact of social media, legislators in some U.S. states have developed laws to regulate the process of content moderation. Many include mandatory transparency and disclosure requirements, some of which courts have already deemed an unconstitutional infringement on social media platforms’ right to free expression. This article explores the parameters for crafting constitutional social media transparency regulations using existing U.S. media policy and insights from recent legal challenges. The resulting analysis identifies content neutral transparency requirements that mandate the disclosure of purely factual, non-controversial information as those most likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. Specifically, …

This Is Not A Game: The Addictive Allure Of Digital Companions, Nizan Geslevich Packin, Karni Chagal-Feferkorn

Seattle University Law Review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have become an inescapable part of modern childhood, reshaping education, leisure activities, entertainment, and social interaction. From AI-powered tutors that adapt to individual learning styles to emotionally responsive chatbots that simulate human companionship, these systems promise unprecedented personalization, cognitive stimulation, and social support. However, these benefits mask significant risks that remain unregulated and inadequately addressed.

Although adults are also susceptible to forming deep emotional bonds with AI companions—often trusting them as if they possessed genuine understanding and empathy—children are particularly vulnerable. Their misplaced trust can more severely distort social development, weaken critical thinking, and foster unhealthy …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Zoology

No abstract provided.

Integrative Taxonomy Reveals The Existence Of A New Species Of Fat-Tailed Scorpions, Androctonus (Buthidae), In Iran, Hossein Barahoei, Omid Mirshamsi, Masoumeh Amiri, Asma Moeinadini, Ehsan Rakhshani

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Two species of Androctonus have been reported to date from Iran: Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) and A. sistanus Barahoei and Mirshamsi, 2022, which is distributed only in the southeast of Iran. Investigating and identifying the distribution range of dangerous species is critically important for scorpion management. A total of 105 specimens of Androctonus were collected from representative locations in Esfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Hormozgan, Hamadan, and Khuzestan provinces. These samples were studied morphologically, morphometrically, molecularly (COI gene sequencing), and through species distribution modeling (SDM) using the MaxEnt model. Four Androctonus species were identified through the morphological and molecular studies: A. crassicauda, …

Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare: A Qualitative Study Among Physicians And Nurses In Florida, Aaron Miri

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

This investigation will leverage participant focus group interviews with 32 clinicians (16 nurses / 16 physicians) to study what, if anything, is inhibiting AI adoption across the hospital. Specific physicians will be sourced across the key service lines of primary care, oncology, cardiology, behavioral health, and emergency department medicine, as these tend to be patient volume driven and thus have the maximum amount of potential for positive impact leveraging AI. Nurses in these same departments will be assessed to analyze if there is a similarity or difference between the nursing and physician AI adoption barriers.

Emerging Clostridioides Difficile Ribotypes Have Divergent Metabolic Phenotypes, Firas S Midani, Heather A Danhof, Nathanael Mathew, Colleen K Ardis, Kevin W Garey, Jennifer K Spinler, Robert A Britton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Clostridioides difficile is a gram-positive spore-forming pathogen that commonly causes diarrheal infections in the developed world. Although C. difficile is a genetically diverse species, certain ribotypes are overrepresented in human infections, and it is unclear if metabolic adaptations are essential for the emergence of these epidemic ribotypes. To identify ribotype-specific metabolic differences, we therefore tested carbon substrate utilization by 88 C. difficile isolates and looked for differences in growth between 22 ribotypes. As expected, C. difficile was capable of growing on a variety of carbon substrates. Further, C. difficile strains clustered by phylogenetic relationship and displayed ribotype-specific and clade-specific …

Author Correction: Generation Of A Tree Shrew Breast Cancer Model Using Lentivirus Expressing Pik3ca-H1047r, Li Zeng, Hong-Yan Zhang, Chuan-Yu Yang, Zhuo Cheng, Qiu-Yun Jiang, Yao Luo, Yi Li, Fu-Bing Li, Ce-Shi Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

The Metaphysics Of Frank Herbert's Dune And God Emperor Of Dune: On Time And Language, Garrett J. Busshart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation studies the metaphysics of time and rhetoric in the science fiction novels Dune (1963) and God Emperor of Dune (1981) by Frank Herbert. The first chapter critiques the protagonist’s sense of temporality, an ideology in which the future consists of multiple possible choices while each decision of one forecloses a still larger set. Jean-Pierre Dupuy calls this a “supermarket” model of temporality, as if the future were a contingent-free menu of possibilities a subject is free to pick between. My assertion is that this sense of temporality—the Western norm—matches the protagonist’s, Paul Atreides’s, rhetoric. In disclosing Paul’s sense …

Mistargeted Retinal Axons Induce A Synaptically Independent Subcircuit In The Visual Thalamus Of Albino Mice, Sean Mccracken, Liam Mccoy, Ziyi Hu, Julie A Hodges, Katia Valkova, Philip R Williams, Josh L Morgan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In albino mice and EphB1 knockout mice, mistargeted retinal ganglion cell axons form dense islands of axon terminals in the dorsal lateral geniculate nuclei (dLGN). The formation of these islands of retinal input depends on developmental patterns of spontaneous retinal activity. We reconstructed the microcircuitry of the activity-dependent islands and found that the boundaries of the island represent a remarkably strong segregation within retinogeniculate connectivity. We conclude that when sets of retinal input are established in the wrong part of the dLGN, the developing circuitry responds by forming a synaptically isolated subcircuit within the otherwise fully connected network. The fact …

Dietary Effects On The Retina Of Hamsters, Nicole El-Darzi, Natalia Mast, Yong Li, Irina A. Pikuleva

Faculty Scholarship

The retina is a sensory tissue in the back of the eye, which captures visual information and relays it to the brain. The retinal pigment epithelium separates the neural retina from the choroidal (systemic) circulation and is thereby exposed to circulating lipoprotein particles. Herein, we used hamsters and conducted various retinal evaluations of animals fed either a normal diet or a Western-type diet (WTD). Prior to evaluations, hamsters were injected with indocyanine green (ICG), a fluorescent dye that binds to various proteins and lipids in the systemic circulation. The WTD increased plasma levels of total and HDL cholesterol 1.8- and …