A model developed by Washington State University researchers can predict how transmission towers might fail and collapse in extreme wind events. The work, reported in the journal, Engineering Structures, could someday help power companies identify the most vulnerable transmission towers in extreme wind events and determine which should have retrofits to reduce the power outage risks.

About The Study: This systematic review found that hospital-based shootings in the U.S. have increased steadily over the past 25 years, representing an intersection between broader national trends in workplace and firearm violence. Large hospitals, those in the U.S. South, and hospitals in urban communities are particularly at-risk settings. These findings underscore the need for hospital-specific prevention strategies, including consideration of weapons screening technology, alongside broader societal efforts to address rising firearm violence.

Researchers at McGill University have discovered that moderate ultraviolet (UV) light exposure is best when the technique is used to enhance vitamin D₂ in edible mushrooms. Excessive exposure leads to nutrient degradation or a plateau effect, they found. The paper also provides quantitative guidance. 

Cybercriminals have been struggling to adopt AI in their work, reports the first of its kind study that analysed a dataset of 100 million posts from underground cybercrime communities.

 

A study focusing on fundamental aspects of quantum physics led by Cal Poly Physics Department Lecturer Ian Powell analyzed how a changing magnetic field can make matter behave in unusual ways. Working in collaboration with student researcher Louis Buchalter, an article coauthor, Powell published the journal article “Flux-Switching Floquet Engineering,” which demonstrates that changing magnetic fields over time in time can create quantum states that do not exist in any stationary material. By engineering new quantum behaviors by timing the field, physicists can potentially create technologies that are very stable and hard to disrupt by “noise” or imperfections that can interfere with quantum technology functionality and avoid system errors. 

The number of post-traditional students, or those who do not come to college straight from high school, is growing across the country. Researchers from the University of Kansas and Florida International University analyzed a group of students in a highly competitive engineering program and found some factors, like being older than 25, working while going to school, commuting and having dependents were positive predictors of key academic outcomes, including continuous GPA, graduating in six years and student retention. The findings can help schools support post-traditional students, an ever more important group of students as an enrollment cliff approaches, the researchers argue.