In this article the authors looked at different attributes of apps within the Google Play store to determine how those may impact the overall app rating out of five stars. They found that review count, amount of storage needed and when the app was last updated to be the most influential factors on an app's rating.
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High school students’ attitudes towards diverse cultures and ethnicities
The authors looked at how a student's own background influence their attitude towards integration of diverse cultures and ethnicities. While overall students viewed other groups positively, the authors found that groups still indicated they felt judged by their peers.
Read More...Which fruit peel helps retain the most soil moisture?
Here, the authors investigated the ability to use fruit peels to help soil retain moisture, a property that is essential to agriculture. Across a 96-hour observation period, orange, banana, and kiwi peel water emulsions were evaluated for their effects on soil moisture. They found that orange peels retained the most moisture, but banana and kiwi peels also offered improvements over their control sample.
Read More...Artificial intelligence assisted violin performance learning
In this study the authors looked at the ability of artificial intelligence to detect tempo, rhythm, and intonation of a piece played on violin. Technology such as this would allow for students to practice and get feedback without the need of a teacher.
Read More...Rhizosphere metagenome analysis and wet-lab approach to derive optimal strategy for lead remediation in situ
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports a significant number of heavy metal-contaminated sites across the United States. To address this public health concern, rhizoremediation using microbes has emerged as a promising solution. Here, a combination of soil microbes were inoculated in the rhizosphere in soil contaminated with 500 parts per million (ppm) of lead. Results showed rhizoremediation is an effective bioremediation strategy and may increase crop productivity by converting nonarable lands into arable lands.
Read More...Efficient synthesis of superabsorbent beads using photopolymerization with a low-cost method
Superabsorbent beads are remarkable, used throughout our daily lives for various practical applications. These beads, as suggested by their name, possess a unique ability to absorb and retain large quantities of liquids. This characteristic of absorbency makes them essential throughout the medical field, agriculture, and other critical industries as well as in everyday products. To create these beads, the process of photopolymerization is fast growing in favor with distinct advantages of cost efficiency, speed, energy efficiency, and mindfulness towards the environment. In this article, researchers explore the pairing of cheap monomers with accessible equipment for creation of superabsorbent beads via the photopolymerization process. This research substantially demonstrates the successful application of photopolymerization in producing highly absorbent beads in a low-cost context, thereby expanding the accessibility of this process for creating superabsorbent beads in both research and practical applications.
Read More...Evaluating machine learning algorithms to classify forest tree species through satellite imagery
Here, seeking to identify an optimal method to classify tree species through remote sensing, the authors used a few machine learning algorithms to classify forest tree species through multispectral satellite imagery. They found the Random Forest algorithm to most accurately classify tree species, with the potential to improve model training and inference based on the inclusion of other tree properties.
Read More...Copper nanoparticle synthesis using Picea glauca ‘Conica’
The authors propose a method to recycle Christmas tree needles into a non-toxic reducing agent for synthesizing copper nanoparticles.
Read More...Thermoelectric cooling in greenhouses: Implications for small-holder production
The authors set to test a system that would help with the dehumidification and overall management of greehouses.
Read More... Machine learning-based enzyme engineering of PETase for improved efficiency in plastic degradation
Here, recognizing the recognizing the growing threat of non-biodegradable plastic waste, the authors investigated the ability to use a modified enzyme identified in bacteria to decompose polyethylene terephthalate (PET). They used simulations to screen and identify an optimized enzyme based on machine learning models. Ultimately, they identified a potential mutant PETases capable of decomposing PET with improved thermal stability.
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