Browse Articles

COVID 19 and the perceived impacts on adolescents’ and young adults’ mental health: A quantitative survey

Kumar et al. | Jul 31, 2023

COVID 19 and the perceived impacts on adolescents’ and young adults’ mental health: A quantitative survey
Image credit: Nick Fewings

Here, recognizing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young peoples' mental health and wellbeing the authors used an online survey which included the short General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to probe 102 young adults. Overall they found that young adults perceived the pandemic to be detrimental to many areas of their wellbeing, with females and those aged 18-19 and 22-23 reporting to be the most significantly impacted.

Read More...

Fractals: Exploring Mandelbrot Coordinates and qualitative characteristics of the corresponding Julia Set

Thomas et al. | Jul 07, 2022

Fractals: Exploring Mandelbrot Coordinates and qualitative characteristics of the corresponding Julia Set

Here based on an interest in fractals, the authors used a Julia Set Generator to consider a specific point on the Mandelbrot set with an associated coordinate. In this manner, they found that the complexity of the Mandelbrot and Julia Sets are governed by relatively simple rules, revealing that the intricate patterns of fractals can be defined by defined by simple rules and patterns.

Read More...

Effect of Manuka Honey and Licorice Root Extract on the Growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis: An In Vitro Study

Chandran et al. | Apr 11, 2018

Effect of Manuka Honey and Licorice Root Extract on the Growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis: An In Vitro Study

Chronic bad breath, or halitosis, is a problem faced by nearly 50% of the general poluation, but existing treatments such as liquid mouthwash or sugar-free gum are imperfect and temporary solutions. In this study, the authors investigate potential alternative treatments using natural ingredients such as Manuka Honey and Licorice root extract. They found that Manuka honey is almost as effective as commercial mouthwashes in reducing the growth of P gingivalis (one of the main bacteria that causes bad breath), while Licorice root extract was largely ineffective. The authors' results suggest that Manuka honey is a promising candidate in the search for new and improved halitosis treatments.

Read More...

Comparison of three large language models as middle school math tutoring assistants

Ramanathan et al. | May 02, 2024

Comparison of three large language models as middle school math tutoring assistants
Image credit: Thirdman

Middle school math forms the basis for advanced mathematical courses leading up to the university level. Large language models (LLMs) have the potential to power next-generation educational technologies, acting as digital tutors to students. The main objective of this study was to determine whether LLMs like ChatGPT, Bard, and Llama 2 can serve as reliable middle school math tutoring assistants on three tutoring tasks: hint generation, comprehensive solution, and exercise creation.

Read More...

PID and fuzzy logic optimization of the pitch control of wind turbines

Zhou et al. | Jan 28, 2025

PID and fuzzy logic optimization of the pitch control of wind turbines
Image credit: The authors

Wind turbines are a valuable source of renewable energy, but face challenges related to unpredictable wind speed. The turbine must be able to control its angle to catch enough wind to generate electricity, while avoiding excess wind that may damage the turbine. Zhou and Wang explore different types of smart turbine controllers to see which appears optimal for electricity generation.

Read More...

Optimizing airfoil shape for small, low speed, unmanned gliders: A homemade investigation

Lara et al. | Mar 30, 2023

Optimizing airfoil shape for small, low speed, unmanned gliders: A homemade investigation
Image credit: Konrad Wojciechowski

Here, the authors sought to identify a method to optimize the lift generated by an airfoil based solely on its shape. By beginning with a Bernoullian model to predict an optimized wing shape, the authors then tested their model against other possible shapes by constructing them from Styrofoam and testing them in a small wind tunnel. Contrary to their hypothesis, they found their expected optimal airfoil shape did not result in the greatest lift generation. They attributed this to a variety of confounding variables and concluded that their results pointed to a correlation between airfoil shape and lift generation.

Read More...