Drafts

Movement speed is one of two key components of driving, with the other being reaction time. Numerous studies show that the result of normal aging is a decrease in reaction time. One study found that when presented with a situation in which multiple variables were to be accounted for, elderly people consistently took longer than 2 seconds to respond. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940374/). Another point proven by studies is that elderly people are at risk of many different conditions that lead to visual impairment, such as cataracts and Diabetic Retinopathy. These statistics aren’t just something that “would likely” lead to more accidents, they are proven to lead to more accidents. Older drivers have more accidents per mile driven than any other age group (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1930757).

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia is a form of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow, or hematological stem cells, and invades the blood. The disease was first recognize in 1845 when it was shown that CML was a blood cell disease characterized by excessive white blood cell accumulation. However, a molecular understanding of the cause of CML was not determined until 1960. Using high-resolution karyotyping/ chromosome banding, it was determined that the disease was caused by a reciprocal translocation between the tips of the long arms of chromosome 9 and 22. It is later determined that this reciprocal translocation event led to the fusion of the c-ABL gene and the BCR gene, creating a chimeric BCR-ABL protein product.

            The structural understanding of BCR-ABL eventually led to the development of imatinib, a CML therapy that works as a potent and selective Abl inhibitor. Although initially skeptical of a any tyrosine kinase inhibitors, imatinib was shown to be a valid and potent treatment for CML. However, challenges remain as imatinib resistance has been shown to occur especially in blast crisis patients who have shown to evolve mutations in BCR-ABL, specifically the Thr315Ile mutation that blocks imatinib activity. Further research into more long-term therapies as well as second generation drugs to combat mutations can lead to longer and lasting remission in CML patients.  

This included knowledge of the N-Terminal BCR sequences being joined upstream of the c-ABL SH3 and SH2 domains as well as several functional motifs including actin binding, as well as nuclear imort and export sequences. Further analysis indicated that BCR, through the use of its coiled-coil domain allowed the BCR-ABL protein to oligomerize. Conserved C-terminal F-actin binding domain in the BCR-ABL fusion protein localizes it in the cytoplasm as opposed to normal c-Abl activity which involves shuttling between the nucleus and cytoplasm to effect DNA damage pathways. The BCR-ABL fusion protein also was determined to obtain unregulated tyrosine kinase activity due to the autophosphorylation at Tyr 1127 in the SH2 catalytic domain linker which disrupts its binding to the SH3 domain.

In order to better understand the mechanism of the chimeric BCR-ABL protein, scientists used other oncoproteins and tumor viruses. For example, the first work involving oncogenic protein kinases revolved around the Rous sarcoma virus oncogene product (v-Src). The Src protein was shown to have highly similar negative regulatory mechanisms to that of Abl. This includes the SH2 and SH3 domains which inhibit kinase activity in both proteins. Both proteins use myristates as well as intramolecular interactions between the SH3, SH2 and kinase domain to inactivate kinase activity. By 1990, sequencing of the BCR-ABL protein allowed scientistsp to categorize the domain structure of c-ABL as well as the BCR-ABL product.

In this lab cyclohexene was synthesized via E-1 elimination through the combination of cyclohexanol and phosphoric acid. It was purified via dehydration and this led to a percent yield of 49.9% . The products were identified as cyclohexene and water using infrared spectroscopy (IR) which is the analysis of infrared light interacting with a molecule and it measures absorption, emission, and reflection in a sample. The infrared spectroscopy did not produce clear peaks due to the fact that the sample was a mixture of water and cyclohexene, but the measured peaks were 3850.00, 2375.32, 1505.00, 650.50 Transmittance. This means that the water was not fully dehydrated because these numbers do not all match up with cyclohexene.

The only person to notice my odd behavior and say something about it was the person who I was walking pace for pace next to. Lastly, in class we talked about different cultures and settings affecting our behavior. In the campus center, I did not get questioned by anyone when I walked pace for pace next to them. The reason is because the campus center is generally busy and there’s a lot of foot traffic, so walking next to people for long periods of time is normal. However, when the setting is changed to a quiet area, like the library when class is in session, a lot of foot traffic isn’t normal, and therefore, walking next to people for long periods of time is seen as a strange behavior. All in all, this experiment was interesting to conduct and it really shows how straying from the norm will cause people to automatically question and judge you as a person based on your behaviors.

Many things factor into the power of social norms to guide and restrict our behavior. In class we walked about social customs influencing our behavior. As stated before, there is an unspoken custom that strangers should not walk pace for pace next to each other. One person either has to speed up and go at a faster pace or slow down and go at a slower pace. Another thing we talked about in class was normative influence and avoiding punishment. In this case, I felt awkward when I walked next to people because they would later ask me if I was ok. This is not a harsh punishment, but being called out and assumed to be creepy, made me conform and say it was for a psychology project. In this experiment, I was able to adjust and get used to the norm violation because there wasn’t any group pressure like we talked about in class.

There is almost an unspoken rule that says people should not walk pace for pace next to a stranger. When people first noticed me, they would either stop or speed up to go at a different pace than me. However, when I adjusted my pace to theirs, they would question me. For this norm violation, other people did not notice me or say anything besides the person I was walking next to. Other people who were not involved in the experiment probably assumed that the person I was walking next to was my friend, which is a normal thing to do. Therefore, they did not question me or give me an odd look.

I realized the campus center was too crowded, so I started to walk near the library where there was less foot traffic. This norm was strange and awkward at first because after a while people would stop and ask me if I was ok. Also at times when I first started doing it, I naturally would walk a little slower or faster to go at a different pace. I assumed this natural responsive behavior was caused by the nature of my habits or conformities to the norm. However, after awhile I got used to it and it started becoming funny. At the beginning when people asked me if I was ok, I did have to justify my behavior saying it was for my psychology class. The reason why I did this was because I felt really awkward when confronted and did not want to come off as a creep. I think I felt awkward because walking next to people at the same pace for a while in a narrow sidewalk is not normal.