Clean water is a necessity for every household, yet water pollution is a serious problem in many parts of the world and plays a major role in compromising water security in the 21st century. In this paper, the authors address the utility of several plants as natural water purifiers. They estimate the effectiveness of duckweed, hyacinth, and azolla in improving the quality of water from the Mithi river in India by measuring several metrics. They conclude that all three plants are effective in improving water quality, suggesting that these plants as eco-friendly options for water treatment.

In a common high school experiment to measure friction coefficients, a weighted mass attached to a spring scale is dragged across a surface at a constant velocity. While the constant velocity is necessary for an accurate measurement, it can be difficult to maintain and this can lead to large errors. Here, the authors designed a new experiment to measure friction coefficients in the classroom using only static force and show that their method has a lower standard deviation than the traditional experiment.

The authors test the feasibility of using thermoelectric modules as a power source and as an air conditioner to decrease reliance on fossil fuels. The results showed that, at its peak, their battery generated 27% more power – in watts per square inch – than a solar panel, and the thermoelectric air conditioner operated despite an unsteady input voltage. The battery has incredible potential, especially if its peak power output can be maintained.

In this study, the authors investigate just how effectively paper towels can absorb different types of liquid and whether changing the properties of the towel (such as folding it) affects absorbance. Using variables of either different liquid types or the folded state of the paper towels, they used thorough approaches to make some important and very useful conclusions about optimal ways to use paper towels. This has important implications as we as a society continue to use more and more paper towels.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a global disease that causes fatal buildup of plaque in the arteries. Currently stents are placed in the artery for many patients with CHD to support proper blood flow. Here, the authors build a system to explore how the shape of the stent affects blood flow rate, a finding that can help optimize stents for patients.

Here, seeking to develop an understanding of the properties that determine the viability of piezoelectric flexible materials for applications in electro-mechanical sensors, the authors investigated the effects of the inclusion BaTiO₃ nanoparticles in electrospun Polyvinyledene Fluoride. They found the voltage generated had a piecewise linear dependence on the applied force at a few temperatures.

Reducing paint drying time is an important step in improving production efficiency and reducing costs. The authors hypothesized that decreased humidity would lead to faster drying, ultraviolet (UV) light exposure would not affect the paint colors differently, white light exposure would allow for longer wavelength colors to dry at a faster rate than shorter wavelength colors, and substrates with higher roughness would dry slower. Experiments showed that trials under high humidity dried slightly faster than trials under low humidity, contrary to the hypothesis. Overall, the paint drying process is very much dependent on its surrounding environment, and optimizing the drying process requires a thorough understanding of the environmental factors and their interactive effects with the paint constituents.

In this study, the authors report their successful efforts to increase voltage production in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC), which is a system in which microorganisms produce electricity while performing their normal metabolism.

Insulin infusion patches are a common way for diabetics to receive medication. The durability of two different patch adhesives was compared on artificial skin with and without artificial sweat.

Cardiovascular diseases are the largest cause of death globally, making it a critical area of focus. The circulatory system is required to make the heart function. One component of this system is blood vessels, which is the focus of our study. Our work aims to demonstrate the numeric relationship between a blood vessel's diameter and the number of pumps needed to transport blood.