Browse Articles

A Juxtaposition of Airborne Microplastics and Fiber Contamination in Various Environments

Truong-Phan et al. | Dec 04, 2020

A Juxtaposition of Airborne Microplastics and Fiber Contamination in Various Environments

Microplastics can have detrimental effects on various wildlife, as well as pollute aquatic and atmospheric environments. This study focused on air samples collected from five locations to investigate microplastic concentrations in atmospheric fallout from indoor and outdoor settings, through a process utilizing a hand-held vacuum pump and a rotameter. The authors found that the difference between the average number of microplastic fragments and fibers collected from all locations was not large enough to be statistically significant. The results collected in this study will contribute to knowledge of the prevalence of airborne microplastics.

Read More...

Impact of hog farming on water quality of aquatic environments in North Carolina

Kancharla et al. | Aug 08, 2023

Impact of hog farming on water quality of aquatic environments in North Carolina

This study collected samples from water bodies near hog farms and an aquatic environment not near a hog farm. It was hypothesized that water bodies near the hog farms would have lower water quality with higher turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH than the water body not in proximity to a hog farm because of water contamination with hog waste. Results showed that the turbidity was 4–6 times higher, TDS was 1.5–2 times higher, and pH was 3 units higher in the 2 experimental locations compared to the control location. This study and its findings are important for understanding the impact of hog farming on the proximal water bodies.

Read More...

The Effect of Delivery Method, Speaker Demographics, and Physical Environment on the Engagement Level of Older Adults

Seides et al. | May 24, 2015

The Effect of Delivery Method, Speaker Demographics, and Physical Environment on the Engagement Level of Older Adults

With an increasing older adult population and rapid advancements in technology, it is important that senior citizens learn to use new technologies to remain active in society. A variety of factors on learning were investigated through surveys of senior citizens. Older adults preferred an interactive lesson style, which also seemed to help them retain more course material.

Read More...

Effect of environment factors on the expression of soluble PDE8A1 in E. coli

Jiang et al. | Oct 25, 2022

Effect of environment factors on the expression of soluble PDE8A1 in <em>E. coli</em>

PDE8, a type of phosphodiesterase (PDE), is proven to be crucial in various cellular activities and physiological activities by influencing second messenger systems. It is involved in a wide range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and various heart diseases. However, there is limited information about PDE8 selective inhibitors. This work aimed to improve the solubility and yield of PDE8 in the supernatant by exploring suitable culture conditions, including temperatures and different additives.

Read More...

A novel filtration model for microplastics using natural oils and its application to the environment

Park et al. | Jun 27, 2022

A novel filtration model for microplastics using natural oils and its application to the environment

Recognizing the need for a method to filter microplastics from polluted water the authors sought to use nonpolar solvents, palm oil and palm kernel oil, to filter microplastics out of model seawater. By relying on the separation of polar and nonpolar solvents followed by freezing the nonpolar solvent, they reported that microplastics could be extracted with percentages ranging from 96.2% to 94.2%. They also provided an estimation to use this method as part of container ships to clean the Pacific Ocean of microplastics.

Read More...

Spider Density Shows Weak Relationship with Vegetation Density

Ryon et al. | Jul 03, 2020

Spider Density Shows Weak Relationship with Vegetation Density

Evidence supports that spiders have many ecological benefits including insect control and predation in the food chain. In this study the authors investigate that whether the percent of vegetation coverage and spider density are correlated. They determine that despite the trend there is no statistically significant correlation.

Read More...

Search Articles

Search articles by title, author name, or tags

Clear all filters

Popular Tags

Browse by school level