The authors looked at the difference in investing in stock vs. mutual funds.
Read More...Where to invest: Stock market indices versus mutual funds
Seed priming with melatonin improves drought tolerance in maize
The authors test whether soaking maize seeds in a solution of melatonin improves seed germination and drought tolerance.
Read More...Propagation of representation bias in machine learning
Using facial recognition as a use-case scenario, we attempt to identify sources of bias in a model developed using transfer learning. To achieve this task, we developed a model based on a pre-trained facial recognition model, and scrutinized the accuracy of the model’s image classification against factors such as age, gender, and race to observe whether or not the model performed better on some demographic groups than others. By identifying the bias and finding potential sources of bias, his work contributes a unique technical perspective from the view of a small scale developer to emerging discussions of accountability and transparency in AI.
Read More...Androgen Diffusion Patterns in Soil: Potential Watershed Impacts
Androgens are natural or synthetic steroid hormones that control secondary male sex characteristics. Androgens are excreted in cattle urine and feces, and can run off or seep into nearby waters, negatively impacting aquatic life and potentially polluting human water sources. Here, the authors investigated the effectiveness of soil as a natural barrier against androgen flow into vulnerable waterways. Their results, obtained by testing diffusion patterns of luminol, an androgen chemical analog, indicated that soil is a poor barrier to androgen diffusion.
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...Focusing Sound Waves Using a Two-Dimensional Non-Linear System
Sound waves can be amazingly powerful, especially when they work together. Here the authors create an “acoustic lens” that focuses sound waves on a single location. This makes the sound waves very powerful, capable of causing damage at a precise point. In the future, acoustic lenses like this could potentially be used to treat cancer by killing small tumors without surgery.
Read More...Impact of length of audio on music classification with deep learning
The authors looked at how the length of an audio clip used of a song impacted the ability to properly classify it by musical genre.
Read More...A potential enzymatic pathway for polystyrene degradation using saliva of greater wax moth Galleria mellonella
Investigation of the potential of waxworm saliva, the secretion of Galleria mellonella, for plastic degradation.
Read More...Mechanism and cytotoxicity of A1874 proteolysis targeting chimera on CT26 colon carcinoma cell line
This study investigates the effects of the PROTAC compound A1874 on CT26 colon carcinoma cells, focusing on its ability to degrade the protein BRD4 and reduce cell viability. While A1874 had previously shown effectiveness in other colon cancer cell lines, its impact on CT26 cells was unknown.
Read More...Simple solving heuristics improve the accuracy of sudoku difficulty classifiers