In this study, high school students and teachers responded to a survey consisting of Likert-type scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions regarding various aspects of remote instruction. After analyzing the data collected, they found that remote learning impacted high school students academically and socially. Students took longer to complete assignments, and both students and teachers felt that students do not learn as much in remote learning compared to in-person instruction. However, most high school students demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the topics, and an overall negative impact on students' grades was not detected.

Fossil fuels are a limited resource; thus, it is important to explore new sources of energy. The authors examine the ability of switchgrass to produce ethanol and test the effects of pretreatment and grinding on ethanol yield.

The study explored the role of testosterone beyond its well-established effects on male sex characteristics, focusing on its association with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis on genomic data.

This study used hand-collected Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and aimed to understand the determinants and incentives of GHG emissions reduction. It explored how companies’ financials, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation, and corporate governance affected GHG emissions. Results showed that companies reporting GHG emissions were wide-spread among the 48 industries represented by two-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.

While resources on the safety of household cleaning products are plentiful, measures of efficacy of these cleaning chemicals against bacteria and viruses remain without standardization in the consumer market. The COVID pandemic has exasperated this knowledge gap, stoking the growth of misinformation and misuse surrounding household cleaning chemicals. Arriving at a time dire for sanitization standardization, the authors of this paper have created a quantifying framework for consumers by comparing a wide range of household cleaning products in their efficacy against bacteria generated by a safe and easily replicable yogurt model.

Energy efficiency is becoming more important as we struggle to find better, more sustainable energy sources to power our planet; the car industry is no exception. In this article, the authors examine the effect of shape on automobile aerodynamics By finding the shape that makes cars less resistant to wind, and therefore more energy efficient, can help the automobile industry make better, more eco-friendly cars that are also cheaper to operate.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infects approximately 40 million people globally, and one million people die every year from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-related illnesses. This study examined the interactions between the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 and the human lymphocyte receptor integrin α4β7, the putative first long-range receptor for the envelope glycoprotein of the virus in mucosal tissues. Presented data support the claim that the V1 loop is involved in the binding between α4β7 and the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein through molecular dockings.

E-cigarettes are often considered a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. This team of high school authors investigated the impact of common e-cigarette compounds on C. elegans, and found a number of harmful effects ultimately resulting in injury and neuronal damage.

This study aimed to determine whether artificial sweeteners are harmful to the human microbiome by investigating two different bacteria found to be advantageous to the human gut, Escherichia coli and Bacillus coagulans. Results showed dramatic reduction in bacterial growth for agar plates containing two artificial sweeteners in comparison to two natural sweeteners. This led to the conclusion that both artificial sweeteners inhibit the growth of the two bacteria and warrants further study to determine if zero-sugar sweeteners may be worse for the human gut than natural sugar itself.

Berberine, a natural product alkaloid, and its analogs have a wide range of medicinal properties, including antibacterial and anticancer effects. Here, the authors explored a library of alkyl or aryl berberine analogs to probe binding to double-stranded and G-quadruplex DNA. They determined that the nature of the substituent, the position of the substituent, and the nucleic acid target affect the free energy of binding of berberine analogs to DNA and G-quadruplex DNA, however berberine analogs did not result in net stabilization of G-quadruplex DNA.