Digital Commons Network^™

Mind–Body Medicine Training For Incarcerated Men And Women, Julie K. Staples, Jesse Rice, Kathleen S. Farah, Sabrina N'Diaye, James S. Gordon

Student Publications

Background/Objective: Mind–body programs teaching mindfulness-based techniques have benefits for incarcerated people, as do programs in which individuals teach yoga to their incarcerated peers. However, there are no studies of comprehensive programs that combine a variety of self-care techniques with group support and enable people in prison to enhance their own well-being and then share what they have learned with their peers. This study evaluated the effects of such a training program in the United States. Methods: Thirty-eight incarcerated men and women began the 8-day mind–body medicine training and 31 completed the training. Mind–body techniques taught included soft belly breathing, meditation, …

The Effect Of An Educational Program Based On The Humanistic Approach On The Achievement In Social Studies Among Second Intermediate Grade Students, Ra’Aed Ahmad Salman Al Muhammadi, Ismael Hasan Abdullah

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

This research aims to identify (the effectiveness of a proposed This research aims to identify “The Effect of a Proposed Educational Program Based on the Humanistic Approach on the Achievement in Social Studies among Second Intermediate Grade Students.” To achieve the research objective, the researcher adopted the quasi-experimental design with partial control, specifically the design of a control group with pre- and post-testing. The research sample consisted of (60) second intermediate grade students, divided equally into two groups:(30) students in the experimental group and (30) in the control group. The preparation of the program went through three stages: planning, implementation, …

The Science Of The Occult According To The Verses Of The Holy Quran, Fatima Dastranj, Mohammed Khazin Hamoud Ali

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

God Almighty is the One who knows the unseen and He is the one who holds the keys to it. Our research came to clarify this matter that God Almighty is the only One who knows the secrets of matters. Therefore, in this research, we divided our study into two sections. In the first, we learned about the theoretical concepts, what is the meaning of the unseen, and what is meant by the science of the unseen. In the second section, we mentioned what the keys to the unseen are intended in the noble hadith and their significance from the …

Investigating Efl Learners' Attitude Toward Emergency Remote Teaching: A Probe Into Learning Strategies, And Reading Achievement, Ihsan Dinnar Mohammad, Dariush Nejadansari, Zargham Ghabanchi

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

The experience of Iraqi university students with Covid-19 emergency remote learning – a situation compounded by political instability, substandard internet infrastructure, and scarce technological resources – remains a relatively underexplored area of academic study. To address this gap, the current study aimed to explore Iraqi EFL learners' attitude toward emergency remote teaching (ERT). Moreover, it sought to examine the relationship between learners' attitudes towards ERT and their reading achievement. Moreover, the researcher tried to find out the relationship between participants' reading achievement and learning strategies. Accordingly, 100 students from two leading universities in Iraq were investigated by focusing on their …

Utilising Reflective Journals As An Assessment Tool: A Case Study Of Kurdish Efl Post Graduate Students At Salahaddin University-Erbil, Qismat Mohammed Zahawi

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

This study accentuates the notion that reflection profoundly aids students to profit from their own experiences. It aims at revealing Kurdish post-graduate students' perceptions toward utilising journal writing as an assessment tool. It also tries to uncover their language progress, metacognition, and self-awareness as a consequence of journal writing. Finally, it elicits challenges encountered by students when writing their journals. The current study is of qualitative-interpretive nature. Students' journal writing is the main tool of the study. Thematic analysis is carried out on data collected from reflective journals and a focus group interview including twelve Kurdish post-graduate students. Journaling resulted …

The Sequence Of The Creation Of The Universe And The Rest Between Jewish Thought And The Interpreters Of The Imamiyyah (Al-Tibyan And Al-Mizan As A Model), Haider Abbas Kadhim, Khalid Ahmed Hussein

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

The Torah talks about the creation of the universe in the Book of Genesis, as this book tells the sequence of this creation, and that it was completed in six earthly days consisting of morning and evening, so according to the order of the Torah, the earth, light, darkness, and water were created, then the sky was created when he placed a skin between waters and waters, then the waters gathered under the skin that was called the sky, so the land was formed and the grass and herbs grew, then the sun, moon, and stars were created above the …

Investing The English Academic Writing Lesson For Developing College Of Languages Graduates Employability, Farah Muayad Issa

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

Employment and employability requirements are currently a substantial concern for many Iraqi and international institutions and universities due to their vital role in empowering and enhancing graduates' opportunities of obtaining a job that suits their specializations and mends the gap between job applicants and employers. Most Iraqi universities and institutions lack a supportive mechanism that provides employment skills, requirements, and training courses to empower an eligible applicant. This study invests academic writing lesson to qualify (110) students from the English department who participated in a one-month training course aimed at raising awareness of the importance of understanding and mastering employability …

Perceived Social Exclusion Among Mothers Of Autistic Children, Rahim Hamli Maraj, Zainab Hussein Dawood Salman

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

Interaction with the environment is one of the basic pillars of the process of building civilization, as it represents the vital relationship between man and the surrounding nature. Investing in natural resources and harnessing them to serve society is what ensures the continuity and growth of civilizations. Hence, it becomes clear that any civilization cannot be built in isolation from the environment, as it is the incubator that provides man with raw materials, and it is also the field in which he tests his abilities to innovate and develop.The ancient Egyptian civilization is a prominent example of how to interact …

Intergroup Bias Among University Students, Abdul Halim Rahim Ali, Hassan Hamid Abdul Obeidi

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

The current research aimed to measure intergroup bias among university students, according to the variables of gender and nationality. The intergroup bias scale was prepared according to the social identity theory of (Henri Tajfel, 1982) and consisted of (29) paragraphs. The descriptive approach was employed. The research sample was selected using a simple equal random sample method, from (8) colleges distributed over (3) universities (Baghdad, Al-Qadisiyah, and Kirkuk). The scale was applied to the statistical analysis sample of (600) students. They extracted the psychometric properties of the scale from validity and reliability. The reliability of the scale reached (0.72) by …

Geographical Distribution Of Traffic Accident Deaths In Iraq For The 2023 Year, Abeer Falih Dheyeab Nasir

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

The research aims to study the distribution of deaths in traffic accidents according to the governorates of Iraq for the year 2023 and their variation from one place to another and study their concentration, as the deaths were concentrated in Baghdad Governorate by (20.37%) of the total deaths in Iraq due to the population weight formed by the governorate as the capital and the increasing huge numbers of vehicles of various kinds, and the percentage of deaths in traffic accidents constituted (4.1) of the total public deaths in Iraq, and the study showed that the causal death rate reached (1.8), …

Targeted Therapy In Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Cancer (Hpc): Advantages And Advancements Of Antibody Drug Conjugates, A Type Of Chemo-Biologic Hybrid Drugs, Tushar Deb Nath, Attrayo Mukherjee, Subhash Chauhan, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Currently, there are very few efficient treatment options for hepatobiliary pancreatic cancer (HPC), which comprises pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), biliary tract cancer (BTC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The HPC tumors are the most lethal malignant tumors in the world. Traditional chemotherapy offers little survival benefit and is associated with notable systemic toxicity, which has made antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) a hopeful treatment option. Strong cytotoxic drugs combine with monoclonal antibodies to attack tumor-associated antigens. This review discusses the benefits and current developments of Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in treating HPC. It also covers their mechanisms of action, ongoing clinical trials, and the …

The Bankruptcy Revolving Door, Belisa Pang

Northwestern University Law Review

The American consumer bankruptcy system is a costly regime with profound societal implications. Between 2008 and 2023, consumers filed 13.8 million bankruptcy cases across the ninety-four federal bankruptcy districts in the United States, generating over $4 billion in court filing fees alone. When accounting for attorney fees, trustee expenses, creditor costs, and broader economic externalities—such as increased interest rates borne by other consumers—the total financial impact easily reaches tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, of dollars.

Against that backdrop, this study uncovers a startling phenomenon: nearly 46% of the consumers who filed bankruptcy in 2023 were repeat filers, …

Negligent Hiring: Recidivism And Employment With A Criminal Record, Benjamin Pyle

Northwestern University Law Review

This Article tackles a difficult legal and policy challenge— reducing the impact of criminal records on job applicants’ chances in a manner that does not spur more discrimination—by looking at how another area of law, tort liability, impacts employers’ decision-making. It uses theoretical and empirical methods to study the most common reason employers report being reluctant to hire workers with a criminal record: legal liability generated by the tort of negligent hiring. While the purpose of the tort is ostensibly to protect and make whole those harmed when an employee misbehaves in a foreseeable manner, I show that, in practice, …

The Multi-Hatted Court: Community Courts As Boundary Organizations, Peter Dixon, Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg

Northwestern University Law Review

As a variety of the problem-solving court model, community courts have received significant scrutiny and debate. Do they help individuals by addressing the underlying needs that contribute to criminal behavior? Do they extend an unjust criminal legal system by making help conditional upon judicial involvement? This Article moves beyond such debates to ask how community court professionals and the communities who engage with them manage these and other tensions that are inherent to the model itself. As the second in a series of articles drawing on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with diverse stakeholders at the Red Hook Community Justice …

The Vanishing Enforcer: Consumer Protection In An Era Of Dual Retrenchment, Alisher Juzgenbayev

Northwestern University Law Review

Recent developments, including reductions in the federal workforce, effective suspension of certain enforcement activities, and attempted centralization of independent agency rulemaking in the White House, have significantly weakened administrative agencies. This administrative retrenchment is concerning as private enforcement of a number of consumer protection statutes has been simultaneously curtailed through the Supreme Court’s decisions in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins and TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, which dramatically narrowed plaintiffs’ standing. These decisions rely in part on a vision of strong executive authority, positing that broad private standing conflicts with an Article II framework where a politically accountable President faithfully implements laws …

Embodied Transcendence: Psychedelics And The Evolution Of Moral Abstraction, Emanuel Jas

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper explores the role of psychedelics in the context of evolutionary brain development and the conceptual capacity for moral realism. Drawing on theories from evolutionary anthropology, neuroscience, and moral philosophy, the first part provides a brief overview of human evolution and brain expansion. From here, recent empirical data from the neurosciences is assessed on the effect psychedelics have on the brain, along with speculations on the role of psychedelics in our hominoid evolutionary history—specifically, the capacity for phenomenologically rich, conscious, subjective experiences that are incredibly vivid and real. This imaginative capacity for transcendence and disembodiment could enable the realization …

Medical Detection Dogs: A Visual Exploration Of Canine Olfactory Anatomy & Volatile Organic Compounds As Applied To Non-Invasive Biomedical Detection, Kirsten Santiago

Theses

Medical detection dogs provide a non-invasive early method of disease and medical alert detection that is underrepresented in the medical visualization sector. The domesticated dog, or Canis familiaris, is known for its loving nature and has become an important member of many households, but they are also incredibly intelligent with a capacity for specialized training. Dogs have a specialized olfactory system, allowing them to detect scents with high acuity (Guest & Otto, 20). Volatile organic compounds or VOCs are molecular substances associated with metabolic processes that are often a result or byproduct of certain diseases and can be influenced by …

Weaving Healthcare Needs Of Maine Law Enforcement Officers With Exercise Is Medicine, Patricia Hubel

Doctorate in Kinesiology

A law enforcement officer’s health is impacted by an occupation of high stress, shift work, sleep disruption, mental stresses, and primarily sedentary work which is interrupted by brief periods of highly intense physical demands (Adams et al., 2010; Boyce et al., 2008, 2009). This descriptive study explored the use of exercise is medicine by primary care practitioners on patients who are law enforcement officers in the state of Maine. It also examined physical activity and health of the law enforcement officers. An online survey collected demographic data, responses from two validated surveys, and information from their last physical examination. The …

Turning Point: Usa, 2020 Election Denialism And Its Consequences, Zack George

University Honors Theses

Current President of the United States, Donald Trump interrupted the peaceful transfer for power for the first time in 250 years. In the typical study of the events surrounding this interruption, much focus is made on the events of the January 6th Capitol Riot. Firstly, this thesis examines the 2 months in the leadup to the 2020 election and how the Trump administration acquired and attempted to execute their plans to commit a self-coup, keeping the administration in power in the face of the election victory and transition to the Presidency of election-winner, Joe Biden. Secondarily, it will contextualize and …

Incidence Of Venous Thromboembolism In Women Receiving Transdermal Oestradiol/Testosterone With Micronised Progesterone In Accordance With Nice Guidelines, Amy Neville, Dan Reisel, John Benton, Mohit Khera, Louise Newson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Despite growing evidence supporting the long-term safety of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), concerns persist about certain adverse health outcomes, including venous thromboembolism (VTE). The aim of the study is to evaluate the risk of VTE in peri- and postmenopausal women treated with transdermal 17β-oestradiol with micronised progesterone or intrauterine progesterone (levonorgestrel) via the Mirena coil, in a real-world clinical setting.

Methods: The study included peri- and postmenopausal women attending a private menopause clinic between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Patients were actively undergoing treatment with transdermal oestradiol and progesterone in the form of micronised oral progesterone or …

Characterisation Of Pouch Secretions From Breeding Tasmanian Devils, Manujaya W. Jayamanna Mohottige, Emma Peel, Angéla Juhász, Mitchell G. Nye-Wood, Katherine Belov, Michelle L. Colgrave, Carolyn J. Hogg

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), like all marsupials, give birth to altricial young. Here we employ proteomic analysis to identify components of devil pouch secretions that may contribute to offspring survival and development. Proteins were extracted from five samples and analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Peptide-level evidence revealed proteins involved in a diverse set of immune pathways, including those mediating iron-ion transport, defence responses to bacteria, innate immune responses, and antigen processing. A core set of 200 proteins was identified across at least three samples, 63 of which were associated with antimicrobial or immunoregulatory functions. These included immunoglobulins, components of …

The Influence Of Presurgical Mandibular Incisor Inclination On The Stability Of Surgical Class Iii Patients: A Systematic Review, Houda Ousli, Youssef Oualalou, Fatima Zaoui, Asmae Bahoum

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of presurgical mandibular incisor inclination on the stability of surgical class III patients.

Methods: An electronic search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, and the Cochrane Library from 2014 to February 2025, initially identifying 351 publications relevant to our review.

Results: Four retrospective studies were included in this review, with the risk of bias ranging from low to serious. A preoperative retroinclined incisal axis leads to an increased post-surgical overjet and inadequate interincisal contact, indicating that retroclined mandibular incisors may affect skeletal stability. However, Overcorrection of mandibular incisor inclination …

Speleoco: An Open, Low-Cost Arduino Co₂ Datalogger For Cave Microclimate Monitoring, Christos Pennos, Dimitrios Christaras

International Journal of Speleology

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) dynamics in caves are critical for karst processes, speleothem growth and dissolution, microclimate regulation, and caver safety. In cave atmospheres, CO₂ commonly derives from soil respiration, epikarst degassing, microbial activity, and, in tectonically active regions, deep-seated fault-related emissions. Fault-related CO₂ degassing may also track tectonic activity. However, continuous monitoring remains limited due to the cost and inflexibility of commercial instruments. Here we present an open-source, low-cost Arduino-based CO₂ datalogger designed for cave applications. The logger integrates a COZIR NDIR CO₂ sensor, a DS1337 real-time clock, microSD storage, and power-gating for extended deployment in humid environments. Firmware and …

Simulated Hearing Loss In Healthy Young And Older Adults Results In Poor Reaction Time In Older Adults., Victoria Kowalewski, Nicoleta Bugnariu, Rita M. Patterson, Jessica Hartos

Pacific Journal of Health

Emerging evidence links hearing loss to increased fall risk in older adults, yet mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined the impact of simulated hearing loss on reactive balance control in healthy young and older adults. Participants performed dual-task scenario involving auditory sentence repetition and unexpected surface translations. Hearing loss was simulated using Adobe Audition, applying frequency-specific attenuation based on moderate sensorineural hearing loss levels from the literature.

Speech-in-noise performance significantly declined under simulated hearing loss for both age groups (p < .001), confirming effective simulation, but not significant differences were found between age groups. Maximum COP-COM displacement (the scalar distance between Center of Pressure and Center of Mass) increased with perturbation intensity (Level 1 vs. Level 2: p < .001), but no significant differences were found between hearing conditions or age groups (p > .05), suggesting compensatory step execution was preserved.

Reaction time analysis revealed a significant interaction between hearing condition and perturbation level …

Real-World Comparison Of Intravenous Vs. Oral Antimicrobial Therapy For Bone And Joint Infections, Maura Kreiser, Sarah Al Mansi, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph.D., Caroline Derrick, P. Brandon Bookstaver Pharm.D., Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Yorika Hammett, Morgan Pizzuti

Faculty Publications

Well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated safe and effective use of oral antimicrobial therapy for bone and joint infections. Application of data for implementation into real-world practice, however, has inherent challenges. This retrospective cohort study compared real-world use of intravenous versus oral antimicrobial therapy in bone and joint infections within a large healthcare system comprising both academic and community medical centers. The primary outcome was the proportion of treatment failure. Key secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients with logistical failure and risk factors associated with treatment and logistical failure. Among 166 patients included, 136 (82%) and 30 (18%) …

From Classroom To Leadership: Anchoring My Leadership In Literacy, Character, And Equity, Amanda Patty-Ingram

Dissertations

My leadership journey as an urban educator has evolved through multiple roles—beginning as a classroom teacher, growing into an academic instructional coach, and now serving as an assistant principal. Across these roles, three values have consistently guided how I lead: literacy, character education, and equity. These are not separate initiatives—they are the foundation of my decisions, relationships, and instructional leadership.

Over time, I have come to understand that effective literacy leadership must be grounded in both character education and equity. Yet in practice, these values are often treated as disconnected: literacy becomes test prep, character becomes behavior compliance, and equity …

Advancements In Extracellular Vesicle Research, Lucia R. Languino

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

The AAEV (American Association of Extracellular Vesicles) Annual Meeting at the John P. McGovern Commons in Houston, TX convened over 300 leading re- searchers, clinicians, and industry experts from around the world to advance the rapidly evolving field of extracellular vesicle (EV) science. EVs, nanoscale lipid- bound particles released by all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, have emerged as crucial mediators of intercellular communication, trans- porting proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids that influence a wide spectrum of physiological and pathological processes. Their involvement in immune modulation, tissue regeneration, cancer progression, metabolic regulation, and other complex biological functions positions EVs as promising …

Knee Arthroscopy Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging In The Diagnosis Of Acl Injury – A Comparative Study, Hussein Habeeb Mhawesh, Ayoub Yosif Hamdan, Ahmed Khalaf Hamad, Alseddiq Oday Latof

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Background: Accurate diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is critical for selecting appropriate treatment strategies and preventing long-term knee dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool, while arthroscopy remains the gold standard. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of MRI against arthroscopic findings in ACL injuries and to assess its current performance in clinical settings for the years 2024–2025. Methods: A total of 40 patients (31 males, 77%; 9 females, 23%) aged 20–50 years (median age 35 years) who presented with suspected ACL injury were enrolled. All patients underwent MRI …

Childhood Cancer In Al-Najaf Governorate, Iraq: Trend Analysis From 2020 To 2023, Sahar Hassan, Hasan Alwan Baiee, Faten Ali Abd-Alzahra Albarki, Rajaa Ali Moheiseen Al-Taee, Mustafa Muqdad

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Background: The lack of comprehensive cancer registries and underreporting of cases may further complicate efforts to assess disease patterns and implement effective control measures. Objectives: This study aims to analyze cancer trends in Al-Najaf Governorate, Iraq from 2020 to 2023, addressing gaps in local data and providing insights that could inform future healthcare strategies and resource allocations. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Middle Euphrates Oncology Center and the Statistics Department for Cancer Research at Al-Najaf General Health Directorate. The study included children younger than 18 with histologically and hematologically verified cancer from January 2020 …

Caregiver Burden And Associated Socioeconomic And Clinical Factors Among Parents Of Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Patients In Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, Dyari Saleem Ismael Ali, Bahar Nasradeen Majeed

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Background: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) in children imposes a significant caregiving burden on parents, affecting their psychological and social well-being. Understanding this burden and its associated factors is crucial for improving family-cantered diabetes care. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the level of caregiver burden among parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and explore its association with sociodemographic, clinical, and management-related factors. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. Jamal Ahmad Rashid Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, between November 2024 and February 2025. A total of 160 parents of children with T1DM were …