Digital Commons Network^™

Parallels Between Internet And Stimulant Drug Addiction, Yashica Bhuvane

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

This analysis explores how stimulant addictions—specifically cocaine, methamphetamines, and nicotine—impact the brain's reward system, comparing these effects with those seen in Internet Addiction (IA). Drawing from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, it assesses changes in key brain regions involved in reward processing, craving, and cognitive control related to these addictive behaviors. The analysis investigates how each stimulant affects dopaminergic transmission and disrupts reward circuitry, highlighting both similarities and differences in brain activation patterns linked to addiction. By comparing these patterns with those seen in IA, the analysis aims to identify which stimulant most closely resembles the neural disruptions associated …

Assessment Of Omentin-1 In Diabetic Nephropathy And Insulin Resistance Individuals In Type 2 Diabetic Patients, Nabaa Najam. Abd Zaid Alshamiry, Nibras Hussain. Abdulsada Al-Ghuraibawi

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

A case-control study at AL-Sadar Teaching Hospital/Al-Najaf Center found a negative correlation between serum omentin-1 levels and diabetic nephropathy, suggesting early detection of microvascular complications. Long-term diabetes increases the risk of complications, including nephropathy, which worsens over time. High blood pressure is a common comorbidity among diabetics, and careful glycemic control is necessary in advanced stages. Omentin-1 plays a role in enhancing insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, but further investigation is needed to determine diabetic nephropathy severity in T2DM patients.

Humanized Ai In Revolutionizing Consumer Services, Anubhav Mishra, Monika Sharma

Management Dynamics

This article provides an overview of Artificial Intelligence, its origination, its growth with the time being, and how people have understood its importance in various business sectors. Humanized AI is an upcoming topic which discusses the widespread use of AI in human lives and how it behaves in one’s manner. AI’s assistance in a humanized way helps humans to see machines, behave in their way and bring positive changes. Consumers’ experience with AI has been discussed significantly.

A Bayesian Network For Business Uncertainties In Coal Mining Industry, Firman Risqul Fidry, Iwan Vanany, Jerry Dwi Trijoyo Purnomo

Journal of Sustainable Mining

In recent years, business uncertainty in the coal mining industry has increased along with increasing global energy demand and carbon emission reduction policies. Not much research has been done on business uncertainty in the coal mining industry based on modelling. This study aimed to develop a model for business uncertainty in the coal mining industry using a Bayesian network approach. The Indonesian coal mining industry was utilized as a case study to develop the proposed model. Two dimensions and nine factors were identified and structured based on a literature review and rigorous interviews with three interviewees from three companies. Each …

Eco-Efficiency And Life Cycle Assessment Of The Long Reach Directionally Drilled And Cross-Measure Boreholes Methane Drainage Technologies Employed In Bituminous Coal Mine On The Basis Of The Pilot Scale Experimental Data, Bartłomiej Jura, Piotr Krawczyk, Anna Śliwińska, Jacek Skiba, Marcin Karbownik, Natalia Howaniec

Journal of Sustainable Mining

This paper presents the results of eco-efficiency and life cycle analysis conducted for two methane drainage technologies: cross-measure (CM) and long reach directionally drilled (LRDD) boreholes. In the analyses, data from coal mine methane drainage of two coal panels, I-C and II-C, located at the Staszic-Wujek coal mine in Poland, were used. The results of the life cycle and eco-efficiency assessments showed that employment of long reach directional drilling boreholes method has a lower environmental impact and is more eco-efficient, causing the lower environmental impact and lower construction and operating costs per cubic meter of methane extracted. The results of …

Tech Giant Exclusion, John B. Kirkwood

Florida Law Review

There is no topic in regulatory policy that is more pressing and more controversial than what to do about the tech giants—Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple. Critics claim that these powerful platforms crush competitors, distort the political process, and elude antitrust law because the law cares only about consumer prices. The only solution, critics argue, is to break them up. The tech giants have indeed engaged in anticompetitive conduct. They have excluded rivals selling products on their platforms by demoting them in search results, copying their products, or refusing to deal with them. While these tactics have harmed consumers, they …

Evaluation Of A Guide To Accessing Accommodations During Medical School Created By And For Students With Disabilities, Nora Newcomb, Emily Coughlin, Zainub Dhanani, Kie Fujii, Lily Upp, Harika Kottakota, Rahul Mhaskar, Andrew Galligan

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Medical students with disabilities constitute 7.6% of allopathic (MD) and 4.3% of osteopathic (DO) programs, and they are entitled to reasonable accommodation, per the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, research has demonstrated that disabled medical students often encounter barriers when accessing accommodations. In response to these barriers, Medical Students with Chronic Illness and Disability (MSDCI) National created the MSDCI Guide to Accessing Disability Accommodations During Undergraduate Medical Education (the Guide). We conducted a program evaluation to evaluate the efficacy of the Guide as a resource to the members of MSDCI, a program evaluation was conducted. A Qualtrics survey was distributed …

Reasonableness As Censorship: Section 230 Reform, Content Moderation, And The First Amendment, Enrique Armijo

Florida Law Review

For the first time in the internet’s history, revising Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act’s immunity for social media platforms from liability for third-party content seems to many not just viable, but necessary. Most such calls for reform are built around the longstanding common law liability principles of duty and reasonableness, namely conditioning Section 230 liability on platforms acting reasonably to “prevent or address” third-party content that might be harmful or illegal. These reforms are finding common cause with several legislative and executive efforts seeking to compel platforms to adhere to “reasonable” or “politically neutral” moderation policies or else …

Cultural Values In The Advertisements Of Islamic And Commercial Insurance Companies: A Comparative Analytical Study Of Social Media Advertisements, Hameed R. Al-Qudaimi

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objective: This study aimed to compare advertisements for Islamic and commercial insurance companies regarding the cultural values used in their advertisements on social media sites like Instagram, X, and YouTube. Method: This study uses content analysis and comparative methods to analyze the content of 300 advertisements during the period of July 1 to September 30, 2023, the study conducted on the Islamic company in Yemen (United Insurance) and the commercial company in Egypt (Allianz). Results: The most important results showed that Allianz was more likely to use individual values, broad influence, avoidance of doubt, masculinity, and long termism, while …

Identifying Underachiever Gifted Students In Jordan, Hadeel Al-Akkad, Ali M. Alodat, Eid Kanaan

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objectives: This study aimed to identify gifted students with low achievement in Jordan by studying the impact of a set of factors and variables and to provide a scale with acceptable psychometric properties to identify this category of students. Methodology: The Mixed Approach was used using the comparative descriptive approach in the quantitative part and semi-in-depth interviews in the qualitative part. (349) gifted students were selected intentionally from King Abdul Allah II Schools for Excellence from the eighth to twelfth grades, where the number of gifted students with high achievement (220) and the number of gifted students with low achievement …

The Phenomenon Of Islam Phobia: Concept, Causes, And Treatment, Enad G. Al-Ghananim

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objective: This research came to study the phenomenon of Islam phobia in terms of concept and origin, and in order to identify the most important reasons that led to the emergence of this phenomenon, and then highlight objective scientific material to talk about it, and ways to treat it. Methodology: The researcher took more than one approach in order to reach his goal, including: the inductive approach: by tracking the issues and branches related to the topic, and then the descriptive approach: by describing the phenomenon as it is on the ground. The most important results: The research concluded that …

The Effect Of Using Wordwall On Academic Achievement And Motivation Towards Learning Mathematics Among Sixth Grade Students In Nablus District, Tahani A. Abd Al-Aziz, Soheil H. Salha, Abdelrahman M. Abu Sarah

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of using Wordwall on academic achievement and motivation towards learning mathematics among sixth grade students in the Nablus District. Methodology: this study used the experimental method with a semi-experimental design, and the study was applied to a sample of 46 female students from the sixth grade at Sarra Secondary School for Girls. They were divided equally into two groups: control and experimental. The algebra unit was taught to the students of the experimental group using Wordwall. The researcher used a pre-test to verify the equivalence of the two study groups, a scale …

Experience Of Psychologists In The Delivery Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy In Treatment Of Depression And Anxiety In Jordan, Renad M. Shamaelh

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

The article explored the experiences of psychologists in delivering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression and anxiety in Jordan. To gain valuable insights into the challenges, strategies, and perspectives of practitioners in the field, the study employs a well-structured questionnaire to provide a comprehensive view of the CBT delivery process. The study involved a purposive sample of 30 licensed psychologists who have been practicing CBT for a minimum of three years and have experience in treating patients with depression and anxiety in Karak, Jordan. With the help of descriptive and inferential statistics, the study intended to contribute …

Skill-Biased Employment And The Stringency Of Environmental Regulations In European Countries, José Alberto Fuinhas, Asif Javed, Dario Sciulli, Edilio Valentini

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Governments across the globe are implementing stricter environmental policies to combat climate change and promote sustainability. This study contributes to the growing literature exploring the influence of environmental policy on skill-biased employment across various occupations. Specifically, we examine the causal effect of the revised version of Environmental Policy Stringency Index (EPS) and its components on skill-biased employment, focusing on occupations such as managers, professionals, technicians, and manual workers across 21 European economies from 2008 to 2020. Using the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), the findings reveal that stringent environmental policies affect employment shares across different occupational categories. Skilled workers …

Developing The Reading Skill And Intercultural Communicative Competence Using Multicultural Narratives At Tertiary Level In Palestine, Hassan Abdul Hamid Naqeeb

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the impact of teaching multicultural narratives using intensive reading skills on promoting the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and improving reading skill achievement at the tertiary level in Palestine. Methodology: To achieve this purpose, the researcher randomly selected 160 university freshmen students learning English as an obligatory course at tertiary level in Palestine during the second semester of the academic skills evenly into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Both groups were taught the same multicultural narratives using the intensive reading skills by the researcher himself. They were assessed using the …

A Comprehensive Parcel-Level Dataset On Farmland Assessment: Addressing Grid-Cell Data Bias Estimation, Wai Yan Siu, Man Li, Arthur J. Caplan

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Grid-cell data are increasingly used in research due to the growing availability and accessibility of remote sensing products. However, grid-cell data often fails to represent the actual decision-making unit, leading to biased estimates in socio-economic analysis. To this end, this paper presents a comprehensive parcel-level dataset for Salt Lake County, Utah, spanning from 2008 to 2018. This dataset combines detailed spatial and temporal data on land ownership, land use, and preferential farmland tax assessments under the Greenbelt program. Compiled from multiple geospatial sources, the dataset includes nearly 200,000 parcel-year observations, providing valuable insights into landowner decision-making and the impact of …

The Role Of Citizen Journalism In Developing Digital Citizenship Values Among Palestinian Journalists In The Digital Era, Ahmad Y. Hamouda, Osama M. Abdallah

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objective: This study aimed to reveal any roles that citizen journalism plays in developing the values of digital citizenship among Palestinian journalists in the digital age, and to provide an illustrative model of the principles of digital citizenship and understanding its values and cultural aspects among Palestinian journalists in light of the consequences that have occurred and are still occurring due to developments in digital technologies. Methodology: This study depended on a purposive sampling consisting of 10 editors-in-chief of local Palestinian media outlets, and managers of Palestinian media institutions and Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. This research employed a group interview of …

Met 302-104: Analysis And Design Of Machine Elements Ii, Ahmed Belal

School of Applied Engineering and Technology Syllabi

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy In Transmission Scanning Electron Microscopy With Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy, Jennifer Carter, Tugce Karakulak, Jeffrey Pigott

Faculty Scholarship

The objective of this work was to explore the capabilities of a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM) equipped with a transmission scanning electron detector (TSEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to identify nanoscale chemical heterogeneities in a gas atomization reaction synthesis (GARS) steel sample. The results of this analysis were compared to the same study conducted with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with EDS mapping. TSEM-EDS was performed using the standard spectral analysis approach, i.e., pixel-by-pixel identification of elements from the spectra, and a new principal component analysis approach to detect regions of similar spectra before identifying elemental …

Alpha Synuclein And Inflammaging, Geneviève L. Putnam, Robert W. Maitta

Faculty Scholarship

The α-synuclein protein is an established molecule in Lewy body pathology, especially Parkinson's disease (PD). While the pathological role of α-synuclein (α-syn) in PD has been well described, novel evidence may suggest that α-syn interacts with inflammasomes in response to aging. As age is an inevitable physiological state and is also considered the greatest risk factor for PD, this calls for investigation into how α-syn, aging, and PD could be linked. There is a growing amount of data regarding α-syn normal function in the body that includes involvement in cellular transport such as protein complexes assembly, vesicular trafficking, neurotransmitter release, …

Ways To Motivate Rural Tennessee Teachers To Use Best Instructional Practices In Elementary Classrooms, Holly Shoulders Anderson

Student Theses and Dissertations

While teachers are provided with professional development, they do not always use the best practices, which can negatively impact their students’ learning. This study addressed the problem of teachers not using the best, research-based instructional practices to instruct students in rural areas of Middle Tennessee. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the factors that motivate teachers to use the most effective classroom instructional practices to increase student achievement. The need to focus on building the capacity of teachers in rural areas follows Gary Becker’s Human Capital Theory. The research questions: What are the lived experiences of …

Does Body Mass Index Influence Intraoperative Costs And Operative Times For Open Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion? A Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Analysis, Danyal A. Quraishi, Advith Sarikonda, Dwight M. Self, Emily Isch, Steven R. Glener, Arbaz A. Momin, Ashmal Sami, Nicholas Clark, Joshua Pelta-Heller, Srinivas Prasad, Ashwini Sharan, Jack Jallo, James Harrop, Alex R. Vaccaro, Ahilan Sivaganesan

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of obesity has raised concerns about its impact on surgical outcomes and healthcare costs. This study evaluates the influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) on intraoperative costs and operative times during open Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) procedures using a Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) approach.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 279 patients who underwent TLIF between 2019 and 2022. Patients were categorized into 5 BMI cohorts: healthy weight (BMI 18.5-24.99), overweight (BMI 25.0-29.99), Class I obese (BMI 30.0-34.99), Class II obese (BMI 35.0-39.99), and Class III obese (BMI >40). Intraoperative costs were calculated using …

Volume Cxliv, Number 9, January 17, 2025, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Analyzing And Mitigating The Risks Of Patient Harm During Operating Room To Intensive Care Unit Patient Handoffs., Nara Regina Spall Martins, Edson Zangiacomi Martinez, Cláudia Marquez Simões, Paul Barach, Maria José Carvalho Carmona

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Patients continue to suffer from preventable harm and uneven quality outcomes. Reliable clinical outcomes depend on the quality of robust administrative systems and reliable support processes. Critically ill patient handoffs from the operating room (OR) to the intensive care unit (ICU) are known to be high-risk events. We describe a novel perspective on how risk factors associated with the process of patient handoff communication between the OR and the ICU can lead to flawed communication, degraded team awareness, medical errors, and increased patient harm. Data were collected from two semi-structured focus groups using a five-step risk management approach at a …

Blue Notes, January 17, 2025 (Issue 2025-01), Illinois State University, Department Of Chemistry

Blue Notes

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of Chemistry

Chemical Damping Of The Motion Of A Piston: Irreversibilities Arising From Nonequilibrium Conditions On The Chemical Potential, David S. Corti, Mark J. Uline

Faculty Publications

We revisit the thermodynamic analysis of an isothermal ideal gas mixture enclosed within a cylinder and separated from the surrounding atmosphere by a movable and frictionless piston. When equilibrium conditions based on the chemical potentials of one or more species in the mixture are not satisfied at all times, which occurs for example for a chemical reaction with finite and non-zero reaction rates in the forward and reverse directions and for mass transfer of one species across a permeable membrane occurring at a finite and non-zero rate, an irreversibility is necessarily introduced into the system with a resulting increase in …

Ud In The News Jan. 10-17, University Of Dayton

News Releases

Business Insider, La Vanguardia in Spain and Catholic outlets nationwide interviewed UD faculty. Several regional and local outlets highlighted UD's Choose Ohio First award from the state of Ohio.

Big Data Management Within Multi-Objective Optimization Modeling For Sustainable Food Production, Breanna Paige Modica

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Producing enough food to feed a growing human population without further degrading the environment through unsustainable natural resource use is a global issue. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the extent to which big data management of environmental impact sources, assessment methods, and allocation methods in multi-objective optimization (MOO) modeling affect the consistency and predictability of sustainable food animal feed management practices at the farm level. Representation theory, the theory of effective use of information systems, the dynamic capabilities view, and the natural resource-based view were used to describe the necessity of accurately representing and managing …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives Regarding Handwriting Fluency And Writing Proficiency In Elementary Students, Sofia Doyle For Scott Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed in this study is that the majority of students nationwide demonstrate low writing proficiency and handwriting fluency. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary school teachers’ perspectives regarding handwriting fluency and its role in the overall writing skills of elementary students. This study was grounded in Piaget’s cognitive learning theory. Four research questions focused on teachers’ perspectives; two questions focused on factors that contribute to low achievement in handwriting and writing proficiency and two questions asked teachers about their experiences with the strategies they used to support students in handwriting and writing achievement. …

Executive Summary: Quality Improvement Initiative Reducing Er Readmissions Among Homeless Individuals With Schizophrenia Using Integrated Care, Chiamaka Nnah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This evaluation of the effectiveness of a quality improvement initiative project aimed to reduce ER readmissions and improve medication adherence among homeless individuals with schizophrenia by implementing an integrated care model. These individuals face substantial barriers to healthcare, including housing instability and limited access to resources, leading to frequent ER visits that strain healthcare systems. Addressing this issue is essential for nursing practice to optimize resource use and improve patient outcomes. The project examined whether a coordinated approach integrating medical and social services could lower ER visits and enhance adherence to treatment. Statistical analyses showed that postimplementation medication adherence increased …