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Submitted by amdicicco on Tue, 09/25/2018 - 10:28

A map was also included in the figure to show a glimpse of where the web was located.  To avoid copyright issues, the map was taken as a screenshot from OpenStreetMap.org. To find the location, I typed in the closest permanent fixture near the bush which was Franklin Dining Hall. OpenStreetMap.org is not too detailed so I screenshotted a larger area to show more buildings, and the whole Permaculture Garden. This screen shot was wider than it was tall. The screenshot showed from the Shade Tree Club past Clark Hall and the grass area past Franklin. Due to the large area covered in the map, I included a red circle which showed the exact location of the bush. In order to not confuse the viewer, I also constructed a key in the bottom right hand corner that showed the same circle and wrote location of web next to it. The key was placed onto a white background that was outlined in black to make it easily seen. 

translocation

Submitted by yurigarcia on Tue, 09/25/2018 - 01:25

Translocation is when there is a movement of chromosomes to a new place in the genome. What we know so far is that translocations can influence the phenotype in many ways. They can rearrange the way genes were supposed to be located at another place affecting their position and expression. Their genes will break apart and the functions delayed. One example is when there is translocation Down Syndrome that there is rearranged chromosome material in the trisomy 21. But unfortunately, one of the 21 chromosomes are connected to the other chromosome rather than being detached.  It is the extra copy that creates health problems with Down Syndrome.

methods redo draft 2

Submitted by cdkelly on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 20:13

To prepare the third component of the figure, a completely zoomed in screenshot of the University of Massachusetts campus on the website OpenSourceMaps.org was taken. The Student Union building was at the center of the screenshot. It was then imported into the program Microsoft paint and cropped so that the map was all that remained in the screenshot.

Next, each image was imported to image editing software InkScape. The overall orientation of the figure was constructed so that the two images, one showing the web and the other the location, were equivalent in size (W=106.032 X H=106.032).They were placed directly next to one another on the top of the figure. The image of the web was put on the left of the figure and the image of the relative location was placed on the right. I connected the screenshot of the map (W=210.480 x H=109.370) directly below the two photographic images. Three black boxes of equivalent sizes (W=18.074 x H=18.074) were then made with the rectangle tool by holding down ctrl while dragging the cursor. By opening the fill and stroke tool under the object bar, I set the stroke style width to 1.065 and set the color to black. Then the color of the fill was set to white. Next, by using the text tool, a lowercase “a” at font size 28 was placed into the center of the newly created box. The other boxes were prepared via the same method, but they differed in the letter contained within them. The box corresponding with the image of the web, located at the top left of the figure, had the box that contained the “a” superimposed onto it while the image of the location next to it had the “b”. Finally, the box with the “c” was placed on the image showing the screenshot of the map. Each label box was placed at the top left corner of their respective components of the figure and the text size was universally 28.

A perfect red circle (W= 9.308 x H= 9.308) was drawn on the location image by holding ctrl while dragging. Again, I opened the fill and stroke tool while the circle was selected and opted for no fill. Then, I set the outline of the circle width to 1.414 under the stroke style tab. The red circle was placed directly over the location of the web.

Methods redo draft 1

Submitted by cdkelly on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 20:12

To obtain the images of the spider web and its relative location, I left the BCRC and proceeded down North Pleasant street toward the Northeast residence halls. Once I arrived at the crosswalk before the Integrated Learning Center, I crossed the street and headed down the walkway towards central campus and the library. Soon, the Student Union building was on my right and I proceeded along the side of the building until I was at with the corner of the building. I turned to the right and traced along the front of building, past the set of windows, until I came across an air filtration system. To the right of the air filtration system was the spider web that the figure was based on.

The two photographs were taken at approximately 3 PM. A bike rack with an overhang was in the close proximity. On the right side of the aforementioned air filtration system was a small metal box with the words “Elect IN rm. 208” written on it in marker. The web was located under that box, and it extended to the right.

Because the web was large and relatively flat, I decided to only focus on the right most portion. To take the photo, the camera was held about one foot above it and pointed directly downwards. A quarter, held between the pointer finger and middle finger of my left hand, was held at the level of the web and positioned so that it would show up at the bottom left corner of the image. Flash was turned on. Once a satisfactory photo was taken, I moved back towards the bike rack. I then positioned myself between the windows of the Student Union and the second pillar of the bike rack structure. The camera was pointed directly at the location of the web and the shot was framed so that the air filtration unit was at the center. The second photograph was captured.

Shark Thermoregulation

Submitted by mtracy on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 20:02

Lamid sharks, such as the great white and mako, actively regulate their internal temperature and can even reach 20 degrees higher than their surrounding enviornment. They do this through a special arrangemnt of blood vessels. Cold oxygenated blood enters through the gills and passes by warm deoxygenated blood vessels. The warmth of the deoxygenated blood is transfered to the cold blood in this way. This mechanism is called counter currency. Heat is generated in large red muscle masses found at the midline of the shark. Red muscle is used for relatively slow, long duration periods of activity and will generate a lot of heat through its aeorbic metabolism. This differs from white mucsle, which is used for quick bursts of activity. Unfortunately white muscle tires very quickly. Thermoregulation is important for a shark due to its predatory nature. When an organism is cold, chemical reactions slow down. By maintaining a warm body, the shark is able to also maintain a rate of chemical reactions. This also improves the sharks awareness and its overall agility.

Cell types

Submitted by fmillanaj on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 18:46

Cells can be generally categorized as being either haploid cells or diploid cells. Haploid cells are cells that have only one copy of the genome in the nucleus. Diploid cells, on the other hand, have two copies of the genome in their nucleus. This is an important distinction of any class involving biology. 

Polyprotic Acids Chem Lab Report - Draft

Submitted by sbrownstein on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 17:49

The results of both reactions were not expected. Originally, there were supposed to be three jumps in pH change in both reactions with different acids. Yet, in the citric acid reaction, only the third jump in pH was visible on the graph because the first two jumps were so miniscule. On the graph of the phosphoric acid reaction, only the first two jumps in pH change were visible because the last jump in pH change was too diminutive to observe. The hydronium concentration that was calculated for the citric acid reaction was 4.027 x 10^-9 M. This concentration was similar to the hydronium concentration given in the procedure: 4.0 x 10^-7 M. The hydronium concentration was found by using the pH halfway through the jump in pH change and using logarithms to isolate the concentration. The calculated hydronium concentration in the first jump in pH change of the phosphoric acid reaction was 2.137x 10^-5 M. This calculation was not as accurate as the citric acid calculations. The given hydronium concentration of the first jump in pH change was 7.5 x 10^-3 M. This variation may be because of human error when adding the NaOH to the acid or the time gaps when recording the changes in pH. The second calculated hydronium concentration for the second jump in pH change was 1.135 x 10^-9 M. This calculation was also not accurate. The given hydronium concentration for the second jump in pH change was 6.2 x 10^-8 M. This variation could possibly be from the same errors made on the first calculation of hydronium concentration in the first jump in pH change of the phosphoric acid reaction.

 

draft

Submitted by amdicicco on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 12:52

For easy replicability, it was important that the camera position was something that anyone could achieve. The picture was taken from between the break in the bushes. This area was used because it was the closest you can get to the web without disturbing it. To include the whole web and the gift card that was used for scale the phone was held about 1.5 feet above the web. At 1.5 feet above, the gift card that was placed on the bottom right side of the photograph was easily seen. The phone was placed completely horizontal as the web was also flat against the bush. 

Method for spider web

Submitted by bthoole on Mon, 09/24/2018 - 12:04

To get the pictures if the spiderweb, first exit the Biology Computer Lab and take a left. Continue to that end of the Morrill building until there is a staircase on both the left and right sides of the hall. Take the staircase on the right all the down to the first floor. Stand at the foot of the stairs and turn left. Facing the wall so that the wooden doors are on the right, look for the red air duct on the wall. There is a missing panel on the bottom left corner. Approach the duct and place a blue Bic ballpoint pen on the ground, with the cap facing away from the wooden doors and toward the exit to the street. The pen should be placed along the edge of the duct where the hole is. This will be used for scale and kept in every picture. Take the first picture with a phone on normal picture mode. Take the picture close to the hole to view the web. The square hole in the duct should match along the edge of the photo to get the correct size. Take a step back to get a wider shot of the area. About half the grate should be seen, with five of the grate sections to the right of the hole. Take another step back to be closest to the wall and take another photo of the whole duct. There should be four tiles in the picture to show the floor before the grate. These three photos will compose part of the figure and should be sent to an email so that they can be downloaded and imported to the inkscape program. To get the map image, use google to search for “Free Map Tools Radius Google My Maps”. Using the google my maps link, search for Morrill Science Center at Umass Amherst. Take a picture so that the campus pond is on the left, the Franklin permaculture garden is on the right and Morrill complex is centered. Use the street view, not the satellite feature. This image should also be saved so that it can be downloaded into inkscape.

    To make the figure for the spider web series, insert all four images from above into inkscape. Arrange them in a two by two fashion so that the closest image to the spider web is one the top left, the second closest is at the top right, the farthest from the web is in the bottom left and the map is in the bottom right. Adjust these images so they are about equivalent sizes, the final size will be adjusted later. Create a square box using the “create a square or rectangle” setting and set its color to red. Using the text feature, type a lowercase “a”. Bring this to the front of the image. Make sure the letter can be read on the box, then center the letter. Use the group button to group the letter and the box. Duplicate the box three times, so there are a total of four boxes. Change the letters in the three new boxes so that they are b-d. Center and group these as done previously. Place the box and letter in the upper left hand corner of each picture, so that the picture closest to the spider web is labeled “a”, the next closest is labeled “b”, the farthest from the web is labeled “c” and the map is labeled “d”. Finally group all the images together and adjust to fit the page. Make the height 3388.23 and the width 2560.94. Export the image and then save it into a google document.

 

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