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The effect of lead oxide concentrations on the bioluminescence intensity of Panellus stipticus

Park et al. | Mar 02, 2026

The effect of lead oxide concentrations on the bioluminescence intensity of <i>Panellus stipticus</i>

Here the authors investigate the potential of the bioluminescent fungus Panellus stipticus to serve as a sustainable bioindicator for environmental lead contamination. Their findings demonstrate that higher lead concentrations cause a measurable decrease in fungal bioluminescence intensity over time suggesting that the fungus could be an effective tool for detecting lead in an environment.

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Determining viability of image processing models for forensic analysis of hair for related individuals

Wang et al. | Feb 04, 2025

Determining viability of image processing models for forensic analysis of hair for related individuals
Image credit: Taylor Smith

Here, the authors used machine learning to analyze microscopic images of hair, quantifying various features to distinguish individuals, even within families where traditional DNA analysis is limited. The Discriminant Analysis (DA) model achieved the highest accuracy (88.89%) in identifying individuals, demonstrating its potential to improve the reliability of hair evidence in forensic investigations.

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Reimagize – a digital card-based roleplaying game to improve adolescent girls’ body image

Kumar et al. | Oct 04, 2021

Reimagize – a digital card-based roleplaying game to improve adolescent girls’ body image

Reimagize, a role-playing with decision-making, was conjured, implementing social psychological concepts like counter-stereotyping and perspective-taking. As the game works implicitly to influence body image, it even counters image issues beyond personal body dissatisfaction. This study explored whether a digital role-playing card game, incorporating some of the most common prejudices of body image (like size prejudice, prejudices from the media, etc.) as identified by a digital survey/questionnaire completed by Indian girls aged 11-21, could counter these issues and reduce personal body dissatisfaction.

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Do elders care about eHealth? A correlational study between eHealth consumption and literacy

Liang et al. | Jul 19, 2023

Do elders care about eHealth? A correlational study between eHealth consumption and literacy
Image credit: Liang and Sposa

As digital tools become more prevalent in medicine, the ability for individuals to understand and take actions based on what they read on the internet is crucial. eHealth literacy is defined as as the ability to seek, find, understand, and evaluate health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem. In general, Americans have low eHealth literacy rates. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the eHealth literacy level among older Chinese adult immigrants in the U.S. To determine the eHealth literacy of elderly Chinese immigrants, we sent out an eHealth survey and relevant computer skills survey using a modified version of the eHEALS (eHealth Literacy Scale) health literacy test. We hypothesized that elders who consumed more electronic health content would have a higher eHealth literacy score. The results of this survey showed that there was a positive correlation between the frequency of electronic health information consumption and the participant's eHealth literacy rate. In addition, the results of our computer literacy test show that the frequency of consumption and computer literacy are positively correlated as well. There is a strong positive correlation between the level of computer skills and eHealth literacy of participants. These results reveal possible steps individuals can take to reduce health misinformation and improve their own health by attaining, understanding, and taking action on health material on the internet.

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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.

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