Blogs

Tetrad analysis is also a valuable tool in determining the genotypes of certain phenotypes, as well as linkage between two genes. If linkage is occurring between genes then the NPD is very rare to see compared to the PD and TT. If linkage is not occurring then the ratios of PD:NPD:TT are roughly 1:1:4. Once linkage has been determined and the ratios have been confirmed, it is easy to determine which phenotype is PD, NPD, or TT and simply match it to the correct genotype. 

Flavivirus is a genus of viruses that includes west Nile virus and cause severe disease such as yellow fever. Flavivirus genomic RNA replication occurs on the rough endoplasmic reticulum, in membranous compartments, and the focus of Dr. Chao and his advisor Dr. Stephen Harrison’s research at Harvard was the fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. Cellular entry by the virus requires this membrane fusion and in order to do so, viral fusion proteins undergo dramatic conformational rearrangements. These proteins must undergo conformational changes to create a thermodynamically favorable chemical reaction and overcome the energetic barriers to merge the two membranes and create hemisfusion.  They discovered that the envelope protein comprised of three main domains, with one being largely hydrophobic and involved in the fusion loop. In its pre-fusion state, the hydrophobic domain is tucked in the protein, however the hydrophobic domain extends into cell membrane then collapses to bring membrane together and create hemifusion and full pore opening.

    Some of the factors we did not consider however, were tree species, tree size, and time. Tree species and size can have a big effect on the species diversity and ecological value of a tree. Also, when observing trees for our experiment, we only observed for a few minutes. In future experiments, observation for hours or days may be needed to get a more accurate understanding for the true ecological value of a tree.

The factors we chose to look at were the number of branches on each tree, the number of cut branches, number of tree cavities, distance from human infrastructure and understory diversity. We characterized understory diversity as the number of species, plant or animal living below or on the tree, whether it be fungi, bird nests, or shrubbery.

    What we found was that for on average, trees off campus had a greater number of tree cavities and understory diversity. We also found a correlation between understory diversity and tree cavities, meaning the more tree cavities, the greater the understory diversity.

    What this possibly means is that tree management techniques preventing tree cavities from forming may be decreasing the ecological value of the tree and that maybe in the future, these tree cavities can be allowed by management teams to allow for more species inhabitance.

Hi, for our group project we decided to look at the effects of tree management techniques here at UMass by observing trees both on and off campus. UMass characterizes tree management needs as a strategy for the removal of hazardous conditions and improving the overall wellbeing of the trees on an “as need” basis. By  looking at certain factors we wanted to compare the effects of tree management on tree health and ecological diversity between UMass and the surrounding area of unmanaged trees.

The authors are using human models to test the questions posed. There were specific guidelines as to be able to join this study. The patients had to be between the ages of 18 to 70. They having to diagnosed by two to three study psychiatrists with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Bipolar II as it is defined in the Structured Clinical Interview in the DSM-IV. The patients have to had a depressive episode of at least 12 months duration and have previously tried four antidepressant treatments prior to the study. They also have to have an intolerance to electroconvulsive therapy or were unable to receive it. The patients also needed to have a score of 20 or higher on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Right before operation, the patients also need to have a score of 20 or higher across four weeks before the operation. The participants also need a score of 50 or less on the Global Assessment of Functioning. Although there were criteria to exclude participation. Patients could not have another medical or psychiatric disorder. The patients could not had substance use within the past twelve months, or a suicide attempt within the last 6 months of twice within the past two years. The patients could not be pregnant during the study.  The reason that humans rather than animals were chosen for the clinical trials is because it would be very difficult to replicate in animals. The study is based on having the patients describe how they feel emotionally which cannot be reproduced in animals.

. In Figure 1, four electrodes are inserted to the left and right of the cingulate making sure to have electrodes in both white and gray matter. After the surgery, the experiment had a single blind sham stimulation phase, in which patients were told that they would either receive a sham stimulation of active stimulation. Although all patients received four weeks of sham stimulation. After the four weeks of sham stimulation, all patients had received active stimulation for twenty-four weeks, with evaluation every one to two weeks. The next phase was the single-blind discontinuation phase. In this phase patients were told they were either going to receive active or sham stimulation, although all would have received sham. This phase was only performed in three patients and was eliminated due to concerns for patient safety. The last phase was observational follow-up, where patients received active stimulation and were evaluated monthly for three months, then every three months for nine months, and then every six months.

There were six main phases in the study. The first phase was finding patients for the clinical trial. In order to find participants, recruitment information was posted on the Emory University website. Out of the 1091 who had interest in the study 323 people had a telephone interview, 194 were chosen to submit medical records, 39 were screened in person, and in the end only 17 participants were chosen in the trial. After the evaluation phase, the 17 patients were screened further and were allowed to continue taking their current psychotropic medications, although no new medications were able to be added. In the surgery phase electrodes bilaterally into inserted into the subcallosal cingulate with local or general anesthesia.

The purpose of our project was to study the windows and doors of Morill 4 south for signs of arthropod inhabitance. Arthropods are more commonly referred to as insects. The signs we were looking for included live bugs, dead bugs, exoskeletons, webs or any cracks or openings that could be used as access points for them. We took two recording a few days apart hoping to see a change in the presence of arthropods. In the graphs in the middle of the poster you can see the relationship between the various signs (dead bugs, live bugs and spider webs) and the distance from the window sill or door to the reptile located on the 5th floor in Morill. In general based on the graphs you can see that the number of signs of arthropods increased as the location got closer to the reptile room. We believe the reason for this is because of the luxury effect, which describes ecosystems shaped completely by human interaction. In this scenario more sign of arthropods were found on the fourth floor because there is less foot traffic on the third and fourth floor as compared to first and second floor. 

This project was aimed to asses the water quality and pollution levels of Sylvan stream using Periphyton. Periphyton are a class of aquatic microorganisms that grow in shallow slow moving water; they typically survive in water that has low to moderate pollution. We set up contraptions in three locations of the stream  that would collect periphyton and we observed the populations under a microscope after one and two weeks. The first location had the least and we believe this is because it was the closest to campus and had higher pollution. The third spot fell in the middle and the second location had the most. Overall there was high amounts of growth on the slides so we're concluding that the stream does have moderate pollution, however the levels do increase closer to campus.