With low-temperature transportation being critical for the progress of research and medical services by preserving biological samples and vaccines, the optimization of cold storage materials is more critical now than ever. The exclusive use of dry ice has its limitations. Notably, it proves insufficient for cold storage during long-range transportation necessary for the delivery of specimens to rural areas. In this article, the authors have proposed a new means of cold storage through the combination of dry ice and ethanol. Upon thorough analysis, the authors have determined their new method as considerably better than the use of pure dry ice across many characteristics, including cold storage capacity, longevity of material, and financial and environmental feasibility.
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Effects of an Informational Waste Management App on a User’s Waste Disposal Habits

While 75% of waste in the United States is stated to be recyclable, only about 34% truly is. This project takes a stance to combat the pillars of mismanaged waste through a modern means of convenience: the TracedWaste app. The purpose of this study was to identify how individuals' waste disposal habits improved and knowledge increased (i.e. correctly disposing of waste, understanding negative incorrect waste disposal) due to their use of an informational waste management app as measured by a survey using a 1-5 Likert Scale. The results showed that the TracedWaste app helped conserve abundant resources such as energy and wood, decrease carbon emissions, and minimize financial toll all through reducing individual impact.
Read More...Stress and depression among individuals with low socioeconomic status during economic inflation

The authors use the Census Household Pulse Survey issued by the US Census Bureau to examine the prevalence of stress and depression among people across socioeconomic statuses.
Read More...Specialized chicken toys are effective in relieving stagnant egg production for stressed layer hens

The authors looked at egg laying rates in chickens at two different small farms. They found when the chickens were provided homemade, colorful toys in their environment that their egg production rates increased.
Read More...Risk factors contributing to Pennsylvania childhood asthma

Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States. But not all people experience asthma equally, with factors like healthcare access and environmental pollution impacting whether children are likely to be hospitalized for asthma's effects. Li, Li, and Ruffolo investigate what demographic and environmental factors are predictive of childhood asthma hospitalization rates across Pennsylvania.
Read More...Understanding the battleground of identity fraud

The authors looked at variables associated with identity fraud in the US. They found that national unemployment rate and online banking usage are among significant variables that explain identity fraud.
Read More...Don’t Waste the Medical Waste: Reducing Improperly Classified Hazardous Waste in a Medical Facility

Hemani et al. tackled the problem of rampant hospital waste by implementing staff training to help inform hospital workers about proper waste disposal. The authors observed a significant increase in proper waste disposal after the training, showing that simple strategies, such as in-person classroom training and posters, can have a profound effect on limiting improper waste handling.
Read More...Exploring the effects of diverse historical stock price data on the accuracy of stock price prediction models

Algorithmic trading has been increasingly used by Americans. In this work, we tested whether including the opening, closing, and highest prices in three supervised learning models affected their performance. Indeed, we found that including all three prices decreased the error of the prediction significantly.
Read More...Accessibility to urgent care services for disadvantaged populations: An analysis of healthcare disparities

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the depth and significance of healthcare inequality in the United States. Xiao, Xiao, and Gong examine healthcare disparities in the Richmond (Virginia) metropolitan area by analyzing whether people from disadvantaged populations must travel for longer to reach healthcare facilities.
Read More...Blockchain databases: Encrypted for efficient and secure NoSQL key-store

Although commonly associated with cryptocurrency, blockchains offer security that other databases could benefit from. These student authors tested a blockchain database framework, and by tracking runtime of four independent variables, they prove this framework is feasible for application.
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