The impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' reten

: The Aluminium (Al) material emerged as a plasmonic material in the wavelength ranges from the ultraviolet to the visible bands in different on-chip plasmonic applications. In this paper, we demonstrate the effect of using Al on the electromagnetic (EM) field distribution of a compact hybrid plasmonic waveguide (HPW) acting as a polarization rotator. We compare the performance of Al with other familiar metals that are widely used as plasmonic materials, which are Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au). Furthermore, we study the effect of reducing the geometrical dimensions of the used materials on the EM field distributions inside the HPW and, consequently, on the efficiency of the polarization rotation. We perform the study based o

The present study aims to establish an empirical correlation between biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the sewage flowing in Al-Diwaniyah wastewater treatment plant. The strength of the wastewater entering the plant varied from medium to high. High concentrations of BOD5 and COD in the effluent were obtained due to the poor performance of the plant. This was observed from the BOD5 /COD ratios that did not confirm with the typical ratios for the treated sewage. Regression equations for BOD5 and COD removal percentages were suggested which can be used to evaluate rapid effluent assessment after the treatment processes or optimal process control to improve the performance of wastewater treatment plants.

Background: The main purpose of this study is to find if there is any correlation between the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in gingival crevicular fluid with its serum level in chronic periodontitis patients and to explore the differences between them according to the probing depth. Materials and methods: Forty seven male subjects enrolled in this study. Thirty males with chronic periodontitis considered as study group whom further subdivided according to probing depth into subgroup 1 with pocket depth ≤6mm, subgroup 2 with pocket depth >6mm. The other 17 subjects considered as controls. For all subjects, clinical examination where done for periodontal parameters plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP),

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a neurological disease that presented with paresthesias, pain, and numbness in the hand's median nerve compression. Vitamin D was assumed to affect both electrophysiological &clinical gradings, the study aims to assess the correlation between the deficiency of vitamin D and both electrophysiological and clinical gradings. This study was conducted in Ghazi Alhariri Hospital during the period from the first of November/2020 to the twenty-eighth of February/2021, fifty five individuals were referred to as Carpal tunnel syndrome patients, and compared to (55) control individuals, blood samples were withdrawn from the patients (3ml), centrifuged and kept in the freezer (-20°C) until the time of analysis of

Toxoplasmosis is regarded as one of the most important global life-threatening diseases in immune-compromised people. The intracellular protozoon Toxoplasma gondii is the causative pathogen of toxoplasmosis. Aim of this study is to investigate the possible association between T. gondii infection and breast cancer (BC) in Iraqi women, also to assess the effect of T. gondiion interleukin 10 (IL-10) of the immune response. By ELISA method, blood samples from 81 women with breast cancer and 60 apparently healthy women have been examined for presence of anti-toxoplasmaantibodies, also the levels of serum IL-10 were estimated in these subjects. Results showed that women with BC had the highest prevalence rate of toxoplasmosis. The anti- T.gondii

Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by persistent microalbuminuria and metabolic changes that decline renal functions. Researchers have been prompted to explore new biomarkers such as KIM-1 and nephrin that may enhance the identification of disease. Objective: To Evaluate biomarker levels of kidney injury molculre-1 (KIM-1) concentration and nephrin as early and sensitive markers of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients. Method: One hundred T2DM patients were included in a cross-sectional study at the specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes, Baghdad. The first group includes 50 diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients, and the second group includes 50 T2DM patients without DN. Biochemical and clinical parameters were reported for pa

This paper provides an attempt for modeling rate of penetration (ROP) for an Iraqi oil field with aid of mud logging data. Data of Umm Radhuma formation was selected for this modeling. These data include weight on bit, rotary speed, flow rate and mud density. A statistical approach was applied on these data for improving rate of penetration modeling. As result, an empirical linear ROP model has been developed with good fitness when compared with actual data. Also, a nonlinear regression analysis of different forms was attempted, and the results showed that the power model has good predicting capability with respect to other forms.