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The effect of floating plant on water purification: Comparison of the water purification capability of Water Hyacinth, Duckweed, and Azolla

Park et al. | Nov 21, 2020

The effect of floating plant on water purification: Comparison of the water purification capability of Water Hyacinth, Duckweed, and Azolla

Clean water is a necessity for every household, yet water pollution is a serious problem in many parts of the world and plays a major role in compromising water security in the 21st century. In this paper, the authors address the utility of several plants as natural water purifiers. They estimate the effectiveness of duckweed, hyacinth, and azolla in improving the quality of water from the Mithi river in India by measuring several metrics. They conclude that all three plants are effective in improving water quality, suggesting that these plants as eco-friendly options for water treatment.

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Sepia bandensis ink inhibits polymerase chain reactions

Novoselov et al. | Sep 21, 2020

<em>Sepia bandensis</em> ink inhibits polymerase chain reactions

While cephalopods play significant roles in both ecosystems and medical research, there is currently no assembled genome. In an attempt to sequence the Sepia bandensis genome, it was found that there was inhibition from the organism during DNA extraction, resulting in PCR failure. In this study, researchers tested the hypothesis that S. bandensis ink inhibits PCR. They then assessed the impact of ink on multiple methods of DNA extraction

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Legacy mercury, reservoir dynamics, and dredging effects on methylmercury in San Francisco Bay

Silver et al. | Aug 24, 2026

Legacy mercury, reservoir dynamics, and dredging effects on methylmercury in San Francisco Bay

This study analyzes over two decades of monitoring data (1999-2022) to investigate how legacy mining, reservoir water releases, and dredging activities influence toxic methylmercury (MeHg) levels in San Francisco Bay. The findings reveal a significant delayed correlation between river flow and San Francisco Bay MeHg, and counter to the authors' hypothesis, a strong association between increased MeHg concentrations in the bay and both total annual dredging volume and beneficial sediment reuse / upland sediment disposal.

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Demographic trends of alcohol and marijuana co-use: examining age, gender, and race/ethnicity trends

Ryoo et al. | Jul 05, 2026

Demographic trends of alcohol and marijuana co-use: examining age, gender, and race/ethnicity trends

This study aims to examine the demographic factors that predict patterns of co-use of alcohol and marijuana in the United States. Significant findings were identified using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2012-2022), showing that there were significant differences in the prevalence of substance use among demographic groups, with young adults showing the highest co-use of alcohol and marijuana.

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Mining social media posts: An alternative approach to understanding home health care workers’ experiences

Tang et al. | Jun 15, 2026

Mining social media posts: An alternative approach to understanding home health care workers’ experiences
Image credit: Markus Winkler

This study developed an effective method for extracting valuable information from social media data and employed computer-assisted human coding alongside the AI-powered tool to analyze social media posts. The findings provide a deep understanding of the major challenges that home health care workers are experiencing and offer important implications regarding how to improve home healthcare workers' well-being, and provide suggestions on optimizing the home health care service experience.

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