In this study, the authors investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on South Korean international school students' anxiety, well being and their learning habits.

With monitoring of climate change and the evolving properties of the atmosphere more critical than ever, the authors of this study take sea salt aerosols into consideration. These sea salt aerosols, sourced from the bubbles found at the surface of the sea, serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and are effective for the formation of clouds, light scattering in the atmosphere, and cooling of the climate. With amines being involved in the process of CCN formation, the authors explore the effects of alkylamines on the properties of sea salt aerosols and their potential relevance to climate change.

Here, recognizing the need to improve the efficiency of the conversion of solar energy to electrical energy, the authors used MATLAB to mathematically simulate a multi-layered thin film with an without an antireflective coating. They found that the use of alternating ZnO-SiO₂ multilayers enhanced the transmission of light into the solar cell, increasing its efficiency and reducing the reflectivity of the Si-Air interface.

This study compares three methods regarding their accuracy in calculating the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The hypothesis presented was that the shadow method would have the greatest mean accuracy, followed by the tube pinhole method, and finally the plate pinhole method. The results validate the hypothesis; however, further investigation would be helpful in determining effective mitigation of each method’s limitations and the effectiveness of each method in determining the distance of other light-emitting objects distant from the Earth.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) use dye as the photoactive material, which capture the incoming photon of light and use the energy to excite electrons. Research in DSSCs has centered around improving the efficacy of photosensitive dyes. A fruit's color is defined by a unique set of molecules, known as a pigment profile, which changes as a fruit progresses from ripe to rotten. This project investigates the use of fresh and rotten fruit extracts as the photoactive dye in a DSSC.

Antibiotics are one of the most common treatments for bacterial infections, but the emergence of antibiotic resistance is a major threat to the control of infectious diseases. Many factors contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. One is bacterial conjugation from Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria where there is a transfer of resistance genes from Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria that could increase antibiotic resistance in the latter. In light of these observations, we decided to test whether Gram-negative bacteria that came into contact with Gram-positive bacteria had a higher resistance to the antimicrobial properties of spices than Gram-negative bacteria that did not come into contact with Gram-positive bacteria.

In this study, the authors investigate the effects of different algal growth media on algae's ability to perform carbon dioxide biofixation, or utilize carbon dioxide by fixing it into fatty acids within the cells. More specifically, carbon dioxide biofixation of Chlorella vulgaris was cultured in one of four media options and carbon dioxide was measured and compared to controls. The study results demonstrated that the use of media can enhance algae's capacity for biofixation and this has important implications for developing methods to reduce carbon dioxide in the environment.

The authors investigate whether human blood cancers carrying mutations in DNA repair genes possess increased sensitivity to common chemotherapy drugs cisplatin or gemcitabine.

As fast fashion explodes in popularity, the fashion industry remains one of the most prominent industries responsible for pollution. This pollution includes a lack of treatment for textile dyes that remain toxic or carcinogenic as they persist in wastewater. To resolve this, the authors of this study set out to determine the efficacy of using edible white rot fungi for cell-based biodegradation of textile dyes into harmless chemicals. This method takes advantage of fungi found in excess from the fungi industry, decreasing food waste while addressing textile waste in tandem.

Growing climate concerns have intensified research into zero-emission transportation fuels, notably hydrogen. Hydrogen is considered a clean fuel because its only major by-product is water. This project analyzes how hydrogen compares to kerosene as a commercial aircraft fuel with respect to cost, CO2 emissions, and flight range.