Mushroom compost, also called Spent Mushroom Substrate or Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC), is suitable for a variety of plants. Previous research has found that the application of SMC will increase plant growth. However, it is unclear which exact proportions of SMC and soil will maximize tomato and bean plant growth. We showed that the hypothesized growth media with 30% SMC optimizes seed germination, plant height, number of leaves, and survival rate compared to other combinations of growth media. Our research suggests that SMC is a useful alternative for conventional fertilizers.

In this study, the authors seek to improve a machine learning algorithm used for image classification: identifying male and female images. In addition to fine-tuning the classification model, they investigate how accuracy is affected by their changes (an important task when developing and updating algorithms). To determine accuracy, a set of images is used to train the model and then a separate set of images is used for validation. They found that the validation accuracy was close to the training accuracy. This study contributes to the expanding areas of machine learning and its applications to image identification.

In this study, the authors investigate the antimicrobial effects of berberine and berberine analogs. Berberine is extracted from plants and is a naturally occurring alkaloid, and is also excited photochemically. Using three different assays, the authors tested whether these compounds would inhibit bacterial growth. They found that these compounds were antibacterial and even more so when used with photoirradiation. This study has important antibacterial implications.

In this study, the authors hypothesized that closed-circuit television images could be stored with improved resolution by using enhanced deep residual (EDSR) networks.

The authors investigate how improper disposal of medication can be mitigated through community education efforts.

In this report, Bhardwaj and Sharma tested whether placing specific plants indoors can reduce levels of indoor air pollution that can lead to lung-related illnesses. Using machine learning, they show that plants improved overall indoor air quality and reduced levels of particulate matter. They suggest that plant-based interventions coupled with sensors may be a useful long-term solution to reducing and maintaining indoor air pollution.

The authors propose a method to recycle Christmas tree needles into a non-toxic reducing agent for synthesizing copper nanoparticles.

FBS is an important component in in vitro cell culture work, helping to provide needed nutrients to cells to grow. The authors look at the ability of an alternative to FBS to support cell growth in culture.

Manufacturers that produce products using fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technologies have control of numerous build parameters. This includes the number of solid layers on the exterior of the product, the percentage of material filling the interior volume, and the many different types of infill patterns used to fill their interior.This study investigates the hypothesis that as the density of the part increases, the mechanical properties will improve at the expense of build time and the amount of material required.

Previously established data indicate that cemeteries have contributed to groundwater and soil pollution, as embalming fluids can impact the microbiomes that exist in decomposing remains. In this study, Caputo et al hypothesized that microbial variation would be high between cemeteries from different eras due to dissimilarities between embalming techniques employed, and furthermore, that specific microbes would act as an indication for certain contaminants. Overall, they found that there is a variation in the microbiomes of the different eras’ cemeteries according to the concentrations of the phyla and their more specific taxa.