Invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) have become a significant threat to Atlantic marine ecosystems, outcompeting native species through rapid reproduction and predation. This bibliometric study of contemporary research examines the growing research interest in lionfish since their introduction to the Atlantic in the late 20th century through an analysis of academic publications from 1980 to 2020 comparing lionfish studies with research on seven different Atlantic grouper species (Epinephelinae), which served as controls due to their shared ecological trophic level. While lionfish-focused research has steadily increased, statistical analysis (paired t-tests) showed no significant difference in publication rates compared to grouper studies. Additionally, an analysis of five observational studies on lionfish stomach contents revealed a preference for small, schooling, pelagic fish, such as grunts (Haemulidae), particularly those active during twilight hours. Lionfish consume prey at alarming rates in Atlantic reef ecosystems, unhindered by the biotic factors of native predators or parasites. Their diet overlaps with native mesopredators, including the economically valuable groupers, further threatening these species by depleting juvenile populations and monopolizing resources. The findings highlight lionfish as a growing ecological and economic concern for Atlantic marine ecosystems. Their unprecedented proliferation underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions to mitigate their impact on biodiversity and support the resilience of native marine communities. […]

Ethanol, commonly known as drinking alcohol, is a psychoactive drug that gives the stimulative effect of alcoholic intoxication. Addiction to ethanol is difficult to overcome due to the withdrawal symptoms present after discontinuing exposure. Planaria, scientifically, Dugesia dorotocephala, is a species of flatworm, commonly used as a model organism for humans; planaria show withdrawal symptoms such as low dopamine levels and changes in movement from addictive drugs, making them a suitable organism to test the effectiveness of white mulberry on withdrawal. Given that previous studies show that white mulberries can revert the movements of planarians after addictive substances, it is hypothesized that white mulberries can help planarians recover from alcohol withdrawal. This study investigates how white mulberry extract may affect the behavior and locomotion of ethanol-withdrawn planarians. Planaria were put in a 1% ethanol solution for 60 minutes and given either post or pretreated with 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9% mulberry in beef for 15 minutes. A vehicle group that received no ethanol exposure or mulberry treatment was also observed. After the treatment, the number of gridlines crossed, head bops, and C-shapes were counted for 20 minutes, followed by a Conditional Preference Test (CPT) for 10 minutes. […]

The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease (PD) has doubled in the last 25 years, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the US. Central to PD pathology is the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta. Levodopa, a primary therapeutic agent, aids in dopamine production to alleviate symptoms of PD. However, it has side effects due to premature conversion of L-dopa into dopamine before passing the blood-brain barrier. Compounds such as sinapic acid, characterized by their methoxy and hydroxyl groups, possess antioxidant properties that can mitigate oxidative stress damaging mitochondrial DNA. This study aimed to mitigate parkinsonism effects from ɑ-synuclein mutation using sinapic acid (10, 20, 30 µM), levodopa 30µM, and sinapic acid 30µM + levodopa 30µM, assessing its impact on lifespan, dopamine concentration, movement speed, and memory, comparing it with Levodopa. 30125, 8848, and 8146 strained drosophila were crossed to obtain Mutant ɑ-synuclein Drosophila expressing GFP in dopaminergic neurons. Drosophila (wild and PD) were exposed to treatments, with assessments at 5 and 35 days old. Two-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey/Scheffe analyses revealed that all 30µM treatment groups significantly reduced PD symptoms of PD strain drosophila (p<0.05). […]

Psychotherapists in training lack a standardized and formalized method of patient interaction for the proper development of empathy, communication, and experience. Currently, the experience of a resident may include training with other residents where one patient acts as the patient and one the psychotherapist, or with the usage of a simulated patient, an actor, to practice with the resident. Both methods have shortcomings in availability, reliability, and the accuracy of the patient in replicating a real scenario. This project attempted to create virtual patients by utilizing online patient transcripts through the fine-tuning and transfer-learning of three modern Artificial Intelligence models, ChatGPT-4o, LlaMa-3.1v-405B, and Gemini 1.5 Pro; alongside the miniature versions of these models as applicable. This included the creation of a website interface that can interact with the created models for evaluation, while also allowing an interactive format with a simplistic design. The accuracy of the models was independently evaluated through cosine similarities between data and model outputs to find semantic relations, and varied from 92.99% to 83.40%; with ChatGPT-4o Mini and Full having the highest fine-tuned and transfer-learning accuracies respectfully. […]

This research investigates the complex connection between high school students' choices of elective courses and their motivation for academic success, with a focus on the influence of school atmosphere, extracurricular participation, and personal passions. Using mixed-methods, the study examined 61 high school students from diverse educational backgrounds to identify key factors impacting their decisions regarding elective courses. The findings demonstrate a strong link between students' academic motivation and how relevant elective courses are to their future career goals and interests. Moreover, the research highlights that a supportive school environment and involvement in extracurricular activities are crucial for shaping students' academic trajectories. These results suggest that elective classes can significantly enhance motivation and engagement when aligned with students' interests and supported by a positive school environment. This study contributes to ongoing conversations around career and technical education by emphasizing the importance of student autonomy and interest-based learning in influencing educational outcomes. […]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. However, the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) driven by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is limited to heart transplantation. Tissue engineering is an alternative solution as the availability of heart transplantation largely depends on the availability of donor organs. While synthetic materials may trigger anti-inflammatory responses after implantation, natural biomaterials such as silk have a high potential as a material for building scaffolds due to its high biocompatibility and biodegradability. Spider silk is a material composed of fibroin proteins. When the proteins are spun, they are called recombinant spider silk, which can be used itself or combined with other biomaterials for surface modification. Especially in relation to cardiovascular tissue engineering, spider silk’s biocompatibility has proven to resemble the native cardiac tissue. Spider silk’s potential for cardiovascular tissue engineering application is investigated through reliable literature reviews and comparisons with other biomaterials including collagen, PCL, PLA, silkworm silk, alginate, chitosan. The growth of the field in research for each biomaterial in relation to cardiovascular tissue engineering was statistically evaluated. […]