Digital Commons Network^™

Production And Optimization Of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (Phas) By Corynebacterium Variabile M11: A Newly Reported Phas-Producing Bacterium, Mary S. Khalil, Mariam K. M. Zarif, Mahmoud S. M. Mohamed

Baghdad Science Journal

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are a family of biopolymers that accumulate inside microorganisms as primary storage polymers in response to nutrient stress. This family of biopolymers can be used as bioplastics instead of synthetic plastics because it biodegrades into CO₂ and H₂O. This study aimed to isolate a new bacterial strain that can accumulate PHAs when cultured under unbalanced nutrient conditions of excess carbon and a depleted nitrogen source. Screening for PHAs accumulating bacterial isolates was based on culturing the bacteria on minimal salt medium containing Nile red as a fluorescent dye. Positive PHAs bacterial colonies displayed bright orange fluorescence …

Assessment Of Vegetation Dynamics On The Caspian Coast Using Remote Sensing, Shahnaz S. Amanova, Normurod Latipov, Afag Z. Hajiyeva, Firuza M. Jafarova, Ramil A. Sadigov

Baghdad Science Journal

The protection and sustainable expansion of vegetation cover is a key objective for maintaining ecological balance, particularly in rapidly urbanizing coastal regions. This study investigates the dynamics of vegetation on the Absheron Peninsula through the application of remote sensing and geospatial analysis. Multispectral imagery from Landsat 5 (2000), Landsat 8 (2014), and Landsat 9 (2025) was processed to calculate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) using red and near-infrared spectral bands. NDVI maps were generated and analyzed to evaluate changes in vegetation density, spatial distribution, and ecological conditions over a 25-year period. The results revealed a reduction in areas with …

Gut-Associated Micrococcus Yunnanensis Rk-06 From Scylla Serrata In Khor Al-Zubair Waters, Basrah, Iraq: A Novel Source Of A Halotolerant Alkaline Protease, Rafid M. Karim, Reham M. Al-Mosawi, Wissal A. Alhilfi, Anwar A. Maki, Nida J. Al-Mousawi, Mohammed F. Abbas

Baghdad Science Journal

Proteolytic bacteria have been isolated from diverse environments, but the crab gut remains a relatively unexplored source. This study aimed to isolate and identify protease-producing bacteria from the gut of the mud crab Scylla serrata collected from Khor Al-Zubair, Basrah, Iraq, and to characterize the produced protease. The gut homogenate was plated on Nutrient agar and 52 bacteria were recovered, of which 12 exhibited proteolytic activity on skim milk agar. Isolate RK-06 showed the highest activity, producing a clear zone exceeding 22 mm and was identified as Micrococcus yunnanenss (GenBank accession No. PZ312149). M. yunnanensis RK-06 was cultivated in the …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Selected Compounds In Inhibiting Bacterial Conjugation And Transfer Of The Antimicrobial Resistance Plasmids, Sundus Q. Mohammed, Mohammed F. Al-Marjani, Nadheema H. Hussein

Baghdad Science Journal

This study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in antimicrobial resistance, including multidrug-resistant strains as well as the transfer of carbapenemase genes, and to determine the role of plasmids in the transfer of such characteristics in the presence of selected compounds. A total of 115 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were collected from patients in five hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, between October 2024 and January 2025. The disk diffusion method was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility, and the modified carbapenem inactivation methods were used to detect phenotypic carbapenemase production. Molecular detection of carbapenemase genes was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Conjugation …

Nano-Curcumin And Copper Nanoparticles As Enhanced Therapeutics For Lung Cancer: A Molecular Docking And Bioinformatics Study, Sabah Saad Abdulsahib, Zahraa Abdulmunim Sharba, Shaymaa Omar Mohammed, Buthenia A. Hasoon

Baghdad Science Journal

The increased surface area-to-volume ratio and improved biological properties of nanoparticles have made them highly attractive for biomedical applications. In the present study, the cytotoxic effects of Cu, Curcumin, and the Curcumin–Cu complex were evaluated against A549 lung cancer cells using the MTT assay. Molecular docking demonstrated that the Curcumin–Cu complex exhibited the strongest binding affinity toward the HRAS protein (PDB ID: 6MQT), forming multiple hydrogen and ionic interactions with key active-site residues, suggesting a potential interaction with this therapeutic target. Bioinformatics analysis further identified HRAS as a highly expressed cancer-related gene in A549 cells and a key regulator of …

Ai Tutor Pro As A Higher Education Study Tool: Pedagogy, Privacy, And Trust, Ron Owston

The Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on Pedagogy and Learning Design, Vol. 1, Issue 1., Fall 2026

Students now study with generative AI whether institutions endorse it or not. For higher education, the harder question is what kind of AI study environment can be recommended with confidence. This article describes the design of AI Tutor Pro, a free study tool created by Contact North | Contact Nord. It explains why the tool was organized into Check My Knowledge, Grow My Knowledge, and Discuss My Knowledge and connects each mode to a different strand of learning theory: retrieval practice, guided dialogue, and the zone of proximal development. It also examines the tool’s privacy model, including anonymous use and …

From Protest To Form: Translating Venezuelan Resistance Into Architectural Form, Estefany S. Gomes

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Political unrest in Venezuela has continuously redefined the relationship between power and space. Protest reveals that collective action is inherently spatial. As movement consolidates into collective action, it reorganizes territory and redefines how space is used and occupied. What appears as an event can be understood as a constructed condition shaped by direction, pressure, and intensity. In this sense, protest operates as a temporary architecture formed through motion and presence.

This thesis investigates the spatial intelligence embedded in protest and explores how it can be translated into architectural form. Protests reorganize space through compression and release. They unfold through phases …

Effect Of Folic Acid And Chitosan Supplementation On Growth Performance And Hematological Parameters Of Cyprinus Carpio, Raad J. Khalaf, Abdulmotalib J. Al-Rudainy, Sanaa A. Mustafa

Baghdad Science Journal

The current research aimed to evaluate the effect of folic acid (FA) and chitosan supplementation as feed additives on growth performance and hematological indices of common carp. A total of 100 of Cyprinus carpio with an average initial weight of 60 g were used in this study. Fish were randomly allocated into five dietary treatments (20 fish/treatment, two replications per treatment) as follows: the control group received a basal diet without additives. Treated groups T1, T2, and T3 received diets containing 2, 3, and 4 g chitosan/kg diet, respectively, each supplemented with 5 mg FA/kg diet, while T4 received 5 …

Hcmv-Encoded Micrornas As Potential Biomarkers Of Cytomegalovirus-Associated Miscarriages In Women-Diyala, Iraq, Rana Fattah Mahmood, Marwa Mansour Hussein, Ali Abdulkareem Ismael Legi, Noura Bougacha-Elleuch, Müge Fırat

Baghdad Science Journal

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage. HCMV-encoded microRNAs may be a biomarker and reflect viral activity following the recent evidence about HCMV. Aim: This study aimed to analyze expression profiles of the selected human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encoded miRNAs hcmv-miR-UL112-3p, hcmv-miR-US25-1-5p, and hcmv-miR-UL132 and their diagnostic value in women with miscarriage due to CMV DNA infection. A case-control trial was conducted in Diyala, Iraq, January to December 2025. Of 180 women with miscarriage, 50 individuals with CMV DNA-positive miscarriage cases with viral load >10³ copies/mL were included. Fifty CMV-seronegative pregnant non-miscarriage women were included …

Valuing Carbon And Ecosystem Services To Guide Policy Decisions For The Transboundary Al-Hwezeh Marsh, Haider S. Abid, Nadheer A. Fazaa, Mark J. Whittingham, Mahdi Ahmad, Ibrahim Bahr Alolom

Baghdad Science Journal

Al-Hwezeh Marsh, a transboundary freshwater wetland in southeastern Iraq at the Iran border, is one of 40 UNESCO World Heritage sites globally designated for both cultural and natural value. Despite this status, the marsh has undergone severe degradation since the 1970s due to upstream regulation of the Tigris and Karkheh Rivers and local economic pressures from oil extraction and agriculture. Cross-border management efforts, coordinated by Bahr Al-Uloom Foundation, aim to promote sustainable restoration. This study supports these efforts by estimating the economic value of ecosystem services and carbon stock under different marsh area scenarios, integrating cultural, natural, and economic dimensions. …

Analysis Of Surgical Irrigants In High-Pressure Paint Injection Injuries As Determined By Fluorescent Particle Imagery, Elise Ehrlich

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Antioxidant And Oxidative Stress Potentials Of Organic Compounds In The Cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya Sp. Rv74, Mira Ausama Al-Katib, Ali Abdulrahman Fadhil, Zahraa Zahraw Al-Janabi, Abdullah A. Saber

Baghdad Science Journal

Phytochemical and antioxidant characteristics of an interesting filamentous cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp., isolated from the local waters of the Tigris River, have been investigated. The species was identified using a combined polyphasic approach including modern standards of morphotaxonomy, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and ecology. The crude ethanolic extract of this cyanobacterium was subjected to an extraction process which used methanol and dichloromethane to separate the organic from the water phase, resulting in two distinct organic layers. Using the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) technique, several bioactive compounds were successfully identified in these organic layers. The antioxidant potentials of these compounds were evaluated …

Effects Of Sowing Date, Water Deficit, And Potassium And Sodium Silicate On Yield And Quality Traits Of Faba Bean (Vicia Faba L.), Mohammed Moatasem Arif Alrawi, Wafaa Ali Hussein

Baghdad Science Journal

Faba bean production in Iraq is becoming much harder due to climate change. Arid environments in the region suffer from a combination of low rainfall, outdated irrigation networks, and extreme heatwaves, all of which directly suppress final crop productivity. As a protein-rich legume of high nutritional and economic value, faba bean requires effective agronomic strategies to maintain yield and quality under stress conditions. This study evaluated, under field conditions during the 2023–2024 growing season in Iraq, the interactive effects of three sowing dates (September, October and November), two deficit irrigation regimes (80% and 60% of the full irrigation control), and …

Assessing Awareness And Use Of Artificial Intelligence Tools Among Library Personnel In Public And Private Institutions In Ekiti State, Nigeria, Thomas Aanu Ojo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Artificial Intelligence is a technology integrated into libraries as a tool to help eliminate tedious and repetitive tasks. However, its awareness and use in libraries are still in the early stages. Therefore, this study investigated the awareness and use of AI tools among library personnel in public and private institutions in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study population comprised 107 library personnel in Ekiti State. The questionnaire was used to elicit data. Descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the level of awareness of AI tools among library …

Sanando Heridas: Un Encuentro Para Sanar, Compartir Y Fortalecer Nuestra Comunidad, Latin American & Iberian Institute, Consulado De Colombia En Los Angeles

LAII Events

Invitamos a las víctimas del conflicto armado colombiano, sus familiares, amigos y a la comunidad migrante colombiana.

Mary Dell Taylor

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Annie Bell Coney Joiner

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Safeguarding Childhood: A Comprehensive Review Of Child Abuse In Pakistan, Zohra Asad, Khadija Khaja

Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners

Child abuse is a phenomenon that has affected children from every country, culture, or socio-economic class. Children who are abused or neglected may be more likely to repeat the cycle of violence by entering violent relationships as teens and adults, or with some abusing their children. This paper aims to explore child abuse in Pakistan, the incidence of child abuse, and ways to address it. This academic article seeks to investigate and examine the patterns of child abuse in Pakistan. This report offers insights into the prevalence, types, risk factors, and effects of child abuse in Pakistan by reviewing the …

The Emergence And Evolution Of Doctor Of Social Work Programs (Dsw): A Review Of Dsw Education, Student Outcomes, And Implications For The Profession, Cynthia Franklin, Will Francis, Katherine Montgomery

Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners

The Doctor of Social Work (DSW) degree has experienced rapid growth since its resurgence in 2007, with a 260% increase in accredited programs between 2014 and 2019. This literature review synthesizes recent empirical and conceptual publications (approximately 2021–2026) on DSW programs, examining their historical development, distinctions from the research-focused PhD in social work, student demographics and motivations, program quality and graduate outcomes, and the role of cohort structures in online and hybrid learning environments. Findings indicate that DSW programs occupy a unique program type in the social work education continuum and serve a distinct population of experienced practitioners seeking advanced …

Bridging The Gap Between Practice And Science: Reflections On The Journey Towards Becoming A Scholar-Practitioner, Willem Jan H. Roestenburg

Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners

The scholar-practitioner paradigm has become increasingly important in social work as the profession continues to strengthen its commitment to evidence-based practice (EBP) and accountability. This article reflects on the role of the social work practitioner as both a consumer and producer of knowledge, emphasizing the importance of practice-based research in narrowing the gap between theory and practice. Drawing on the author’s three decades of experience as a social work educator, doctoral program coordinator, and mentor to undergraduate and postgraduate students, the article reflects on how practitioners transition toward becoming scholar-practitioners. Four developmental phases are proposed: (1) the beginning phase, in …

A Distributional Synoptic Perspective On The So-Called “Historical Present” Tense Of Mark’S Gospel, Oliver Glanz

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

The Greek “historical present” (HP) tense phenomenon is often presented in textbooks and grammars as a literary feature that authors use in historical narrative texts to bring a sense of vividness to the reader. As if the historical distance of the “pastness” of the narrated event is overcome and the reader is brought—like in a time machine—into the presence of the event narrated. Even though this concept of the so-called Greek HP has been contested, if not rejected by some Greek scholars, it is often taught in seminaries and NT Greek textbooks. The absence of a consensus about the function …

Text-Fabric And The Bibleol: A Fruitful Combination For Greek Exercise Development, Cedric Vine, Oliver Glanz

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Two of the major challenges for an instructor of any language course are (1) the limited amount of exercise material available for students and (2) compromised exams requiring the laborious creation of new exams. These challenges increase significantly when teaching biblical languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). However, BibleOnlineLearner (BibleOL) has now addressed both of these challenges. When an instructor uses BibleOL, he/she can easily create an exercise that targets a specific learning object (e.g., learning the Greek present tense of the regular conjugation). BibleOL then creates randomized exercises for each student. Unless the instructor decides otherwise, the BibleOL exercise will be …

Navigating The Challenges In Creating Text-Fabric Datasets, Tony Jurg, Saulo De Oliveira Cantanhêde

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

The established high-quality, annotated database of the Hebrew Bible created by the ETCBC enabled advanced linguistic analysis. The N1904-TF Conversion Project, started by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Andrews University, aimed to create a comparable Text-Fabric dataset for the Nestle 1904 Greek New Testament. A primary requirement was to implement constituency-based syntax trees, which involved transforming our source data’s word-group structure into a syntactic one. By incorporating both the original and translated data, the project facilitates the visualization of syntax trees in both formats. This article outlines the project’s methodology; including defining requirements, selecting data sources, assessing data provenance, evaluating …

Coding The Greek New Testament In The Text-Fabric Open-Source Environment, Saulo De Oliveira Cantanhêde, Tony Jurg

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Throughout the centuries, the Bible has been reproduced in various forms, from the scroll to the codex, from the handwritten codex to the printed book, and more recently, the digital Bible, as described in this article. We report the final implementation of a data conversion project to convert an existing open-source Nestle 1904 (N1904) Greek New Testament (GNT) encoded in XML format through Text-Fabric (TF) software. The data was converted using Python packages and was made available in a GitHub repository for programmers and non-programmers. The resulting annotated text can be used for morphological and syntactical linguistic research. We also …

Editorial Vol 62.1, Martin F. Hanna, Oliver M. Glanz

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Digital Analysis And The Greek New Testament: Contextualizing The Nestle 1904 Text-Fabric Conversion Project, Willem Th. Van Peursen, Oliver Glanz

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This special issue of AUSS is devoted to a project that concerned the conversion of an existing syntactically analyzed version of the Greek New Testament (the MACULA version of Nestle’s 1904 edition; in short: N1904), into Text-Fabric (TF), which facilitates computational analysis as well as the integration of the syntactic data in other resources such as the Bible Online Learner (BibleOL). What started as just a conversion project developed into a more comprehensive project in which the annotations were enriched and the applicability of the new tool in research and education was tested. Moreover, from a data science perspective, it …

Table Of Content Vol 62.1, Auss Auss

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Treating The Trauma Beneath The Violence: A Reappraisal Of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrator Interventions, Huda S. Shaikh, Vanessa Cordoba

Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners

Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a global public health emergency with little meaningful reduction in prevalence over the past two decades, despite extensive micro-level interventions targeting perpetrators through batterer intervention programs (BIPs) and legal accountability mechanisms (Arce et al., 2020; Babcock et al., 2004; Shetty, 2025; WHO, 2025). Using a macro social work and epistemological lens, this paper argues that the IPV field and judicial systems, particularly in the United States, have relied on an outdated and largely reactive paradigm that obscures the trauma histories of perpetrators, neglects intergenerational and neurobiological mechanisms, and perpetuates epistemic injustice toward both survivors and …

Becoming A Scholar-Practitioner: Reflections From A Dsw Journey, Paulette S. Smith

Journal for Social Work Scholar-Practitioners

This reflective article examines the development of scholar-practitioner identity throughout a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program. Drawing from experiences in clinical practice, teaching, leadership development, and academic scholarship, the article explores how doctoral education transformed the author’s understanding of the relationship between research, practice, and social work leadership. Attention is given to the integration of scholarship into real-world practice and the evolution of professional identity through critical reflection, applied research, and curriculum development.

The article highlights the development of a 14-week master’s-level social work curriculum focused on the social justice implications of cannabis prohibition as a central capstone project. …

When The Chatbot Is Wrong On Purpose: Using Genai Role-Play To Build Student Engagement And Critical Ai Fluency, Sierra Adare-Tasiwoopa Api

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore how customized AI chatbots can be used to increase student engagement while also teaching students to question AI-generated information. The workshop centers on a role-playing game scenario in which students interact with a chatbot non-player character (NPC) that serves as a guide, informant, but one that sometimes provides incomplete, misleading, or invalid information. Rather than treating chatbot errors as failures, the activity uses them as opportunities for students to practice verification, source evaluation, metacognition, and discipline-specific reasoning.

Participants will first experience a short version of the role-playing activity as students. They will then …