Browse Articles

Racial and gender disparities in the portrayal of lawyers and physicians on television

Asadi et al. | Nov 18, 2022

Racial and gender disparities in the portrayal of lawyers and physicians on television

Powered by the sociological framework that exposure to television bleeds into social biases, limiting media representation of women and minority groups may lead to real-world implications and manifestations of racial and gender disparities. To address this phenomenon, the researchers in this article take a look at primetime fictional representation of minorities and women as lawyers and physicians and compare television representation to census data of the same groups within real-world legal and medical occupations. The authors maintain the hypothesis that representation of female and minority groups as television lawyers and doctors is lower than that of their white male counterparts relative to population demographics - a trend that they expect to also be reflected in actual practice. With fictional racial and gender inequalities and corresponding real-world trends highlighted within this article, the researchers call for address towards representation biases that reinforce each other in both fictional and non-fictional spheres.

Read More...

The Development and Maximization of a Novel Photosynthetic Microbial Fuel Cell Using Rhodospirillum rubrum

Gomez et al. | Mar 02, 2014

The Development and Maximization of a Novel Photosynthetic Microbial Fuel Cell Using <em>Rhodospirillum rubrum</em>

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical systems that utilize bacteria and are promising forms of alternative energy. Similar to chemical fuel cells, MFCs employ both an anode (accepts electrons) and a cathode (donates electrons), but in these devices the live bacteria donate the electrons necessary for current. In this study, the authors assess the functionality of a photosynthetic MFC that utilizes a purple non-sulfur bacterium. The MFC prototype they constructed was found to function over a range of environmental conditions, suggesting its potential use in industrial models.

Read More...

Effect of Collagen Gel Structure on Fibroblast Phenotype

Grace et al. | Nov 28, 2012

Effect of Collagen Gel Structure on Fibroblast Phenotype

Environment affects the progression of life, especially at the cellular level. This study investigates multiple 3-dimensional growth environments, also known as scaffolds or hydrogels, and their effect on the growth of a type of cells called fibroblasts. These results suggest that a scaffold made of collagen and polyethylene glycol are favorable for cell growth. This research is useful for developing implantable devices to aid wound healing.

Read More...

Quantitative NMR spectroscopy reveals solvent effects in the photochemical degradation of thymoquinone

Mandava et al. | Dec 16, 2023

Quantitative NMR spectroscopy reveals solvent effects in the photochemical degradation of thymoquinone

Thymoquinone is a compound of great therapeutic potential and scientific interest. However, its clinical administration and synthetic modifications are greatly limited by its instability in the presence of light. This study employed quantitative 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify the effect of solvation on the degradation of thymoquinone under ultraviolet light (UV). It found that the rate of degradation is highly solvent dependent occurs maximally in chloroform.

Read More...

A novel encoding technique to improve non-weather-based models for solar photovoltaic forecasting

Ahmed et al. | Jun 09, 2023

A novel encoding technique to improve non-weather-based models for solar photovoltaic forecasting

Several studies have applied different machine learning (ML) techniques to the area of forecasting solar photovoltaic power production. Most of these studies use weather data as inputs to predict power production; however, there are numerous practical issues with the procurement of this data. This study proposes models that do not use weather data as inputs, but rather use past power production data as a more practical substitute to weather-based models. Our proposed models demonstrate a better, cheaper, and more reliable alternatives to current weather models.

Read More...

Utilizing 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 to prevent the appearance of diabetic-like phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster

Zaverchand et al. | Sep 20, 2021

Utilizing 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 to prevent the appearance of diabetic-like phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster

This study aimed to assess the role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 solution, at varying concentrations, in protecting vertical transmission of diabetic-like phenotypes. We hypothesized that the highest concentration of vitamin D solution (55 ng/mL) would be most effective in having a protective role. The results indicated that the hypothesis was partially supported; overall, all three concentrations of the vitamin D solution administered to the flies reared on HSDs had a protective effect, to varying extents.

Read More...

Developing a neural network to model the mechanical properties of 13-8 PH stainless steel alloy

Zeng et al. | Sep 10, 2023

Developing a neural network to model the mechanical properties of 13-8 PH stainless steel alloy
Image credit: Pixabay

We systematically evaluated the effects of raw material composition, heat treatment, and mechanical properties on 13-8PH stainless steel alloy. The results of the neural network models were in agreement with experimental results and aided in the evaluation of the effects of aging temperature on double shear strength. The data suggests that this model can be used to determine the appropriate 13-8PH alloy aging temperature needed to achieve the desired mechanical properties, eliminating the need for many costly trials and errors through re-heat treatments.

Read More...