With the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating the transition to remote learning, disruption to daily school routine has impacted educational experiences on a global scale. As a result, it has potentially worsened reading achievement gaps typically exacerbated by long summer months. To address literacy skill retention and pandemic-induced social isolation, the non-profit organization ByKids4Kids has created a reading program, “Kindles4Covid Virtual Reading Buddies Program,” to instill a structure for youth to read together and connect with the convenience of Amazon Kindle devices. In this article, the authors determine the efficacy of their invaluable program by assessing changes in reading frequency and self-reported connectedness among program participants.
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Examining the relationship between screen time and achievement motivation in an adolescent population
In this study, the authors conduct a survey of high school students to evaluate the effects of screen time and habits on motivation.
Read More...Environmentally-friendly graphene conductive ink using graphene powder, polystyrene, and waste oil
In this article, the authors propose an effective, environmentally-friendly method of producing conductive ink using expired waste oil, polystyrene, and graphene.
Read More...Observing effects of resolving leaky gut on sugar, fat, and insulin levels during type 1 diabetes in fruit flies
This study uses a fruit fly model of type 1 diabetes (T1D) to determine whether strengthening intestinal tight junctions to reduce intestinal permeability would improve T1D symptoms.
Read More...The Inhibitory Effect of Probiotics on the Growth and Biofilm Formation of Salmonella Sp.
Salmonella is a genus of bacteria responsible for over 90 million cases of intestinal illnesses yearly. Like many bacteria, Salmonella can create a biofilm matrix, which confers stronger resistance against antibiotics. However, there has been relatively little research on the inhibition of Salmonella biofilm formation, which is a crucial factor in its widespread growth. In this study, Lee and Kim quantitatively measure the effectiveness of several common probiotics in inhibiting Salmonella bacterial growth. They found concentration-dependent antibacterial effects varied among the probiotics tested, indicating the possibility of probiotic species-specific mechanisms of Salmonella growth inhibition.
Read More...The Role of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Cardiac Structure and Function
Cardiac autonomic and structural changes may occur in temporal lobe epilepsy patients and contribute to the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy patients. Choi and colleagues reviewed clinical charts to obtain patients’ lifetime seizure count, antiepileptic drug use, and history of heart disease, followed by transthoracic echocardiogram to calculate left ventricle dimensions, ejection fraction, and left ventricle mass. By comparing epilepsy patients to control subjects, they found that epilepsy patients had thinner left ventricle walls and smaller ejection fraction, but with no significant difference in left ventricle mass.
Read More...Fabrication of CuSbS2 Solar Cells by Sulfurization of Thermally Evaporated Metal Stacks
In this article, the authors created CuSbS2 solar cells. They discovered that the cells' efficiency was affected by the formation of MoS2. By incorporating a layer of single-walled carbon nanotubes, however, they were able to prevent MoS2 formation and increase the device's efficiency.
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