Abstract

Excessive electricity consumption negatively affects the economic growth of developing countries, and is a major cause of carbon emissions throughout the globe. This experiment investigated how the use of energy efficient behavior reminder affects electricity conservation in a New York City Public High School. In this experiment, during the first 10 days of the experiment, custodians were not reminded to turn off lights. From Day 11-20, reminders were sent to custodians every Monday and Fridays to turn off the light. During Day 21-30, reminders were sent everyday to remind custodians to turn off the lights. The results showed daily reminders had a significant decrease in electricity consumption compared to when no reminders were sent, but there was no significant difference between the percentage of lights being on, making it difficult to confirm if the custodians followed the reminders. The reminder of turning off lights was not a major source of electricity consumption and other factors might have consumed a larger portion of electricity.. More schools should be studied in order to validate the results. Future studies/research can test the effects of energy saving behavior reminders on electricity conservation from turning off electronic devices, such as smart boards or computers, at the end of the day.

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a promising method for mitigating nitrogen pollution due to its low cost and generation of biomass that can be repurposed. However, given the risk of plant invasion and the low tolerance to extreme conditions of plants currently used for phytoremediation, broad implementation requires the discovery of new species. This study assessed the phytoremediation suitability and invasive potential of Phyllanthus fluitans, a promising free-floating macrophyte for which no peer-reviewed physiological data exist. P. fluitans is morphologically similar to Lemna minor, the most widely used phytoremediation species, but has the added benefit of larger fronds that reduce wind-driven displacement risk. Plants were placed in 0.002M solutions of ammonium-to-nitrate ratios ranging from 0:1 to 1:0 across two independent trials. Plants receiving solely nitrate exhibited drastically higher fresh weight (p<0.05), dry weight, leaf count (p<0.05), root length, and survival rate compared to all other groups. Ammonium dose-dependently increased mortality, causing toxicity symptoms like chlorosis, necrosis, and stunted growth, resulting in complete die-off in the sole ammonium group. Additionally, the reduction of a mineral supplement between trials revealed P. fluitans to be highly sensitive to elevated water hardness. Collectively, nitrate preference and poor resilience render P. fluitans a poor phytoremediation candidate. However, under optimal conditions, the species can more than double its biomass in 24 days. This indicates that the invasive potential of P. fluitans varies drastically depending on environmental conditions, a finding that environmentalists can use to make condition-specific risk assessments and manage invasions accordingly.  

Abstract

his study investigated the combined efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Panax ginseng extract for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). Single-target therapies aimed at clearing amyloid-beta (Aβ) have been largely unsuccessful, shifting attention toward multi-target approaches; among the most promising are DHA and Panax ginseng. Although DHA shows strong efficacy in AD prevention, once neurodegeneration has taken hold, blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage impairs its transport into the brain. Ginseng may counteract this by strengthening the BBB through the Wnt/β-catenin (BAR-1 ortholog in Caenorhabditis elegans) pathway and preventing DHA oxidation via its antioxidant properties, thereby enhancing delivery where it exerts neuroprotective effects. Based on these complementary mechanisms, the present study evaluated whether combined treatment confers benefits beyond either treatment alone using CL2355 (transgenic AD model) and N2 (wild-type) Caenorhabditis elegans. Five experimental groups were compared: two untreated controls (wild-type; AD model) and three AD model groups receiving DHA (5 mM), ginsenoside (10 μg/mL), or both. Treatment effects were assessed through paralysis (mobility), chemotaxis (neurological function), and population growth (reproduction) assays. The combined treatment reduced paralysis by 40% relative to untreated AD worms and 10% beyond either treatment alone, while significantly improving chemotactic function (p<0.01). These results suggest combined treatment holds potential as a multi-target therapeutic strategy, possibly by enhancing DHA absorption by the neurological system and/or targeting AD pathology through compounding mechanisms, though this study cannot distinguish between the two. These promising findings warrant further research using higher-order AD models or assays measuring nervous system DHA absorption.