We are changing our environment with steadily increasing carbon dioxide emissions, but we might be able to help. The authors here use a computer program called Community Climate System Model 4 to predict the effects of spraying small particles into the atmosphere to reflect away some of the sun's rays. The software predicts that this could reduce the amount of energy the Earth's atmosphere absorbs and may limit but will not completely counteract our carbon dioxide production.
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The study of technology and the use of individual cognitive effort
A trial study was performed in 2021 to investigate the link between technology and transactive memory. Transactive memory is shared knowledge in which members share the responsibility to encode, store, and retrieve certain tasks or assignments, leading to a successful and collective performance. We hypothesize that a participants’ expected access to an external source affects the recall rate and retrieval of information.
Read More...A HOG feature extraction and CNN approach to Parkinson’s spiral drawing diagnosis
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the U.S., second only to Alzheimer’s disease. Current diagnostic methods are often inefficient and dependent on clinical exams. This study explored using machine and deep learning to enhance PD diagnosis by analyzing spiral drawings affected by hand tremors, a common PD symptom.
Read More...Development of selective RAC1/KLRN inhibitors
Kalirin is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the GTPase RAC1, linked to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s Disease. It plays a crucial role in synaptic plasticity by regulating dendritic spine formation and actin cytoskeleton remodeling, which are essential for creating new synapses. Authors developed two novel compounds targeting kalirin, confirming that predictive modeling can indicate biological activity.
Read More...Ladder Fuel Treatments Effect Burn Area of Forest Fires in Semi-Arid High Elevation Climates
In this study, the authors investigate a timely and important topic: forest fires. More specifically, they use a wildfire simulator to test how ladder fuels effect the burn area of a forest fire. Ladder fuels are fuels that cause a forest fire to rise up from the forest floor to the canopy, which may affect the overall spread. They simulated fire spread with different levels of ladder fuel treatment and found that the spread of a burn area would indeed decrease with increased ladder fuel treatment. These findings have important implications for forest and forest fire management.
Read More...Simulations of Cheetah Roaming Demonstrate the Effect of Safety Corridors on Genetic Diversity and Human-Cheetah Conflict
Ecological corridors are geographic features designated to allow the movement of wildlife populations between habitats that have been fragmented by human landscapes. Corridors can be a pivotal aspect in wildlife conservation because they preserve a suitable habitat for isolated populations to live and intermingle. Here, two students simulate the effect of introducing a safety corridor for cheetahs, based on real tracking data on cheetahs in Namibia.
Read More...The Effects of Micro-Algae Characteristics on the Bioremediation Rate of Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil
Environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can be devastating to ecosystems for long periods of time. Safer, cheaper, and more effective methods of oil clean-up are needed to clean up oil spills in the future. Here, the authors investigate the ability of natural ocean algae to process crude oil into less toxic chemicals. They identify Coccochloris elabens as a particularly promising algae for future bioremediation efforts.
Read More...The Effect of Interactive Electronics Use on Psychological Well Being and Interpersonal Relationship Quality in Adults
In recent years, usage of interactive electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets has increased dramatically. Many studies have examined the potential adverse effects of excessive usage of such devices on children and adolescents, but the effects on adults are not well understood. In this study, the authors examined the relationship between adult usage of interactive electronic devices and a variety of clinical measures of psychological well-being. They found that according to some metrics, higher usage of interactive electronic devices is associated with several adverse psychological outcomes, suggesting a need for more careful consideration of such usage patterns in clinical settings.
Read More...A statistical analysis and generalized linear models of cerebral stroke
Here the authors sought to investigate whether and how cerebral stroke and other health-related variables are influenced together and amongst each other by using statistical analyses. Their analysis suggested relations between nearly all variables considered, with the strongest association between having heart disease and a cerebral stroke.
Read More...Maternal mortality rates in the United States correlated with social determinants of health
This article helps in understanding the effect of various social determinants on maternal mortality in the United States. It explains the relationship between maternal mortality rates and factors like race, income, education, and health insurance access.
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