benjaminburk's blog

Abstract

In the spring of 2018 for our Writing in Biology class our group was tasked with preparing a research proposal that would study microclimates. Microclimates are small restricted climates that normally differ from the surrounding area. This projects main goal was to create an experiment that could be carried out by multiple group and answer a set of research questions.

Impact

The results of this experiment will provide important information on the what causes changes in physical attributes of microclimates, specifically bodies of water. It will also provide beneficial practice on how to carry a comparative experiment and produce conclusions based on the similarities and differences.

In this experiment we hope to find specific differences between physical attributes of the campus pond and nearby puffers pond. We hope that results of this experiment will expose significant differences between the two bodies of water and lead to a better understanding as to why the the differences occur The techniques and procedure used and were pulled from the “Plankton diversity of in a landscape of shallow water bodies”  research paper written by Maria A. Rodrigo, Carmen Rojo and Xavier Armengol.

The experiment we decided to run is comparison of physical attributes between the campus pond and the nearby puffers pond. The physical attributes we tested were temperature, pH, turbidity, plankton diversity, emergent vegetation, submerged vegetation, water velocity and direct and general biodiversity of surroundings. The temperature was tested by approaching the shore and inserting a the thermometer into the water for 1 minute and recording the resulting temperature after the minute. pH was tested by inserting a pH strip into the water and approximating the pH based on the color that appeared. Turbidity was tested using a homemade secchi disk, which was constructed by attaching a rock covered in tin foil to a piece of string of approximately 3 feet. This homemade disc was then lowered into the water and the length of rope submerged was recorded. Plankton biodiversity was tested using a plankton net and then by taking a 1 mL sample and counting the amount of organism present in the sample. Emergent and submerged vegetation were recorded as present and not present. Water velocity and direction was found by a bottle of water filled up halfway and recording the time it took to travel a set distance. General biodiversity was recorded through descriptions of the vegetation and wildlife seen around the bodies of water.

Group proposal characteristics

physical characteristics:

1.temperature

2. pH

3. Turbidity

4. sampling plankton for biodiversity

5. Emergent vegetation

6. Submerged vegetation

7. Water velocity and direction

8. General biodiversity of surroundings

ponds to compare

    campus pond

    puffers pond

​Most of the characterisitcs will be tested on a present versus not present basis and or on a comparison bassis between the two ponds

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common metabolic and endocrine disorder in premenoausal women. Recent studies have mounted evidence that PCOS is a disorder caused with strong environmental and epigenetic influences, including diet and other lifestyle factors.PCOS frequently appears in pair assocaition with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular risks, insulin resistance and obesity. This disorder does not require complicated treatments or extensive changes to ones life styles. Recent studys have found that the disorder requires appropiate therapies that address hyperandrogenism, a consequence of metabolic disorders. 

This article discussed the effect of the Asian Zika virus on the infected individuals, specifically the negative effects it induces in the blood of pregnant women. Monocytes are a specific type of white blood cells found in blood. They are considered immunomodulators, which simply means that they play an essential role in the immune defense system. These monocytes, specifically the CD14+ Monocytes seem to be the top target of African- or Asian- lineage Zika viruses. The accessibility of the targeted monocytes becomes heightened in the blood of infected and pregnant individuals, leaving them more susceptible to the virus and its effects. Most specifically Asian-lineage Zika resulted in an immunosuppression of monocytes and a shutdown of the interferon signaling pathway. Both of these effects can lead to serious birth complications due to the resulting expression of host genes that are normally left unexpressed. The article illustrated the similar and different effects of the different lineages of the Zika virus, specifically in the pregnant population.

This fascinating article discusses Glatiramir Acetate, which is a drug that is used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, a disease in which the individuals’ immune system attacks the myelin sheath of the nerves and slowly degrades the nervous system. However a new discovery has led scientists to discover that the drug is also quite successful at killing Gram-negative bacteria, specifically Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes pneumonia and has become alarming resistant to many antibiotics frequently used in treatment. This discovery gives doctors a new tool in fighting various diseases, like pneumonia and septic shock. Currently the treatment method consists of ineffective antibiotics and the use of other medicaments in such high doses that they can actually harm the patient. One of the most appealing things about this drug is the fact that it’s currently on the market and approved for use which saves company and scientist time, money and energy by avoiding the approval process, which in turn can save lives. It also allowed for further advancement in the treatment of MS, which has numerous benefits as well.

This article discusses the effects of microbiomes on melanoma patients’ response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Early results and mouse trials show that gut microbiome modulates tumor response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. 112 melanoma patients undergoing anti-PD-1 immunotherapy had their oral and gut microbiomes observed. There is a large difference between the variety and composition of microbiomes when comparing responders to non-responders. Specifically a large abundance of Ruminococcaceae bacteria was found in responding patients. Immune profilin of the patients showed enhanced responses and anti tumor immunity in patients that had favorable microbes present. These findings could prove to be very beneficial for the future treatment of melanoma. 

This article discussed the effect of the Asian Zika virus on the infected individuals specifically the negative effects it induces in the blood of pregnant women. Monocytes are a specific type of white blood cells found in blood. They are considered immunomodulators, which simply means that they play an essential role in the immune defense system. These monocytes, specifically the CD14+ Monocytes seem to be the top target of African- or Asian- lineage Zika viruses. The accessibility of the targeted monocytes becomes heightened in the blood of infected and pregnant individuals, leaving them more susceptible to the virus and its effects. Most specifically Asian-lineage Zika resulted in an immunosuppression of monocytes and a shutdown of the interferon signaling pathway. Both of these effects can lead to serious birth complications due to the resulting expression of host genes that are normally left unexpressed. The overall goal of the article is to illustrate the similar and different effects of the different lineages of the Zika virus, specifically in the pregnant population.

This article discusses the similarities between the two bacteria that cause Lyme disease and Syphilis. The main similarity between the two bacteria is that they both use a tail in order to move within their respective environments. The peculiar thing about the tails and what makes this similarity so interesting is that the tails of teach bacteria are actually located inside their bodies. The similarities don’t stop there though, both bacteria are spirochetes, meaning they have a corkscrew-like configuration, they are also both exceptionally active in their environments for bacteria. The tails of these bacteria rotate causing torque and movement of the bacteria. Overall this embedded tail design allow the bacteria to penetrate walls and environments that non-spirochetes cannot penetrate. This provides an evolutionary advantage, some specific examples of this advantage is the ability of the Lyme disease bacteria to penetrate the blood brain barrier to infect the CNS and the ability of Syphilis to penetrate the placenta and infect an unborn child.