Browse Articles

SmartZoo: A Deep Learning Framework for an IoT Platform in Animal Care

Ji et al. | Aug 07, 2024

SmartZoo: A Deep Learning Framework for an IoT Platform in Animal Care

Zoos offer educational and scientific advantages but face high maintenance costs and challenges in animal care due to diverse species' habits. Challenges include tracking animals, detecting illnesses, and creating suitable habitats. We developed a deep learning framework called SmartZoo to address these issues and enable efficient animal monitoring, condition alerts, and data aggregation. We discovered that the data generated by our model is closer to real data than random data, and we were able to demonstrate that the model excels at generating data that resembles real-world data.

Read More...

The effects of social media on STEM identity in adolescent girls

Sreekanth et al. | Mar 11, 2024

The effects of social media on STEM identity in adolescent girls
Image credit: Diane Serik

Social media is widely used and easily accessible for adolescents, it has the potential to increase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) identity in girls. We aimed to investigate the effects of exposure to counter-stereotypical portrayals of women in STEM on social media on the STEM identity of adolescent girls. The study concluded that social media alone may not be an effective tool to increase STEM identity in girls. Social media can still be used as a complementary tool to support and encourage women in STEM, but it should not be relied upon solely to address the gender disparity in STEM fields.

Read More...

Effects of various alkaline carbonic solutions on the growth of the freshwater algae Chlorophyceae

Jani et al. | Aug 11, 2023

Effects of various alkaline carbonic solutions on the growth of the freshwater algae Chlorophyceae
Image credit: Jordan Whitfield

Modern day fossil fuels are prone to polluting our environment, which can provide major habitat loss to many animals in our ecosystems. Algae-based biofuels have become an increasingly popular alternative to fossil fuels because of their sustainability, effectiveness, and environmentally-friendly nature. To encourage algae growth and solidify its role as an emerging biofuel, we tested basic (in terms of pH) solutions on pond water to determine which solution is most efficient in inducing the growth of algae.

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...

Analysis of complement system gene expression and outcome across the subtypes of glioma

Mudda et al. | May 17, 2023

Analysis of complement system gene expression and outcome across the subtypes of glioma
Image credit: National Cancer Institute

Here the authors sought to better understand glioma, cancer that occurs in the glial cells of the brain with gene expression profile analysis. They considered the expression of complement system genes across the transcriptional and IDH-mutational subtypes of low-grade glioma and glioblastoma. Based on their results of their differential gene expression analysis, they found that outcomes vary across different glioma subtypes, with evidence suggesting that categorization of the transcriptional subtypes could help inform treatment by providing an expectation for treatment responses.

Read More...

Effect of heme vs. non-heme iron supplements on gut microbiome fitness

Dogra et al. | Nov 07, 2022

Effect of heme vs. non-heme iron supplements on gut microbiome fitness

Here, based on identification of iron deficiencies of a majority of people around the world, the authors sought to understand how the two main forms of dietary iron, heme and non-heme, affect the bacteria found in the human gut. by using a cell plate study, they found that bacterial growth increased with increasing concentration os either form of iron, up until the point where the high iron content resulted in cytotoxicity. They suggest this evidence points to the potential dangers of overconsumption of iron.

Read More...

A comparative study on the suitability of virtual labs for school chemistry experiments

Praveen et al. | Aug 22, 2022

A comparative study on the suitability of virtual labs for school chemistry experiments

Virtual labs have been gaining popularity over the last few years, especially during the worldwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the suitability of virtual labs for school chemistry experiments is addressed and their effectiveness is compared to traditional physical lab experiments by focusing on physical and human resources, convenience, cost, safety, and time involved as well as topic "matter".

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...

The influence of experience on the perception of homelessness in individuals

Dua et al. | Jun 30, 2022

The influence of experience on the perception of homelessness in individuals

Economic disruptions and housing instabilities have for long propelled a homelessness epidemic among adults and youth in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this phenomenon with a 2.2% increase in the number of homeless individuals and more than 70% of Americans fearing this outcome for themselves. This study aimed to analyze the perception of homelessness in two groups: Those who have previously experienced and overcome homelessness and those who are at-risk for experiencing the same. The study analyzed publicly available Reddit posts by people in both groups and found that at-risk individuals tended to associate primarily fearful emotions with the event, and those who had overcome homelessness tended to view the event in a negative context. These results may encourage the establishment of resources to support the currently homeless and help them transition into society, and services to help them cope with negative emotions, as negative attitudes have been shown to decrease life expectancy.

Read More...

The effect of wild orange essential oil on ascorbic acid decay in freshly squeezed orange juice

Sebek et al. | Feb 25, 2022

The effect of wild orange essential oil on ascorbic acid  decay in freshly squeezed orange juice

The goal of this project was to see if the addition of wild orange essential oil to freshly squeezed orange juice would help to slow down the decay of ascorbic acid when exposed to various temperatures, allowing vital nutrients to be maintained and providing a natural alternative to the chemical additives in use in industry today. The authors hypothesized that the addition of wild orange essential oil to freshly squeezed orange juice would slow down the rate of oxidation when exposed to various temperatures, reducing ascorbic acid decay. On average, wild orange EO slowed down ascorbic acid decay in freshly squeezed orange juice by 15% at the three highest temperatures tested.

Read More...