Drafts

I also researched some ways in targeting KRAS mutations. From the article titled, “‘Unexpected’ Vulnerability Creates Treatment Opportunity in Aggressive Type of Lung Cancer,” there has been studies done where XPO1 was used as an inhibitor. Since it was discovered that KRAS mutations rely on the protein, XPO1. Overall, it states that an XPO1 inhibitor would lead to a decrease in size of the tumor in NSCLC with KRAS mutations. Blocking XPO1’s activity lead to a disruption of the signaling pathway controlled by NFκB. NFκB is known to affects the activities genes involved in stimulating cell survival.

So far throughout our project we have discussed about using a protective coating around the drug. This protective coat will be made of a detergent containing a pH of 5.5. Detergents are able to disrupt membranes due to the amphipathic nature of both cellular membranes and detergent molecules. This means that they possess the characteristics of having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. Detergent molecules are able to pull apart membranes. Some aspects I don’t fully understand yet are how we will be targeting and delivery our drug in a way that won’t affect other systems or pathways in our bodies. I still have to research ways in which drugs can be delivered in a way that they target the pulmonary vein. One way we could assay our treatments is by monitoring whether the tumor has spread through scans if we were working on real patients.  We would have to perform tumor genomic assays. At the molecular level we would have to be monitor the overexpression of AATF. But also, other types of cells to see if our drug could have programmed cell death in places where it shouldn’t have. 

Malignant transformation depends on robust mechanisms to override DNA damage response signaling to preserve their proliferation speed despite the genotoxic abrasions.  According to the article, “AATF suppresses apoptosis, promotes proliferation and is critical for Kras-driven lung cancer,” tumor cells rely on the effective suppression of p53-mediated induction of apoptosis regardless of their genomic instability either through TP53-inactivating mutations or through counteracting signaling molecules. In addition, it has also been known that lower levels of AATF protein expression correlate with higher expression rates of p53, Puma, and cleaved Caspase-3. This is all after genotoxic stress. AATF is also referred to as Che-1 and from “The anti-apoptotic factor Che-1/AATF links transcriptional regulation, cell cycle control, and DNA damage response,” article it states, that its phosphorylated by ATM and Chk2 and this leads to the stabilization of AAATF. As a result, it increases p53 and p21 expression contributing to stopping cell growth in response to DNA damage.

This plant is found in the third room of Durfee Conservatory when entering street side from Thatcher Road.  Once in the third room, Oncidium Sharry Baby is found on the right side against the wall on the bottom of the three shelves.  It is a tall orchid with a cluster of small, fragrant purple and white flowers.  The first photo, located in upper left side of the figure, is taken standing directly in front of the plant with the white sign ‘Fragrant Flower’ facing the photographer.  This first photo is labeled ‘A’ in the figure.  

The second picture taken is a close up of the flowers.  There is a single string of blooms coming off to the right of the ‘Fragrant Flower’ sign, and this photo is taken with the last bloom in the bottom left of the photo.  This photo, located in the upper right side of the figure, is labeled ‘B’.

The final part of the figure is a map of where this flower can be located.  This orchid is natively found in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.  This figure is created on Inkscape, using a world map with country outlines found with a google search.  The countries listed are filled in with turquoise, and the map is below below the two images of the specimen.  This final part of the figure is labeled ‘C’.

Anthurium

            Attached to Morrill Science Building III is the Ray Ethan Torrey Botanical Collection at the Morrill Greenhouses. Viewing the abundance of plant species was disappointing in the main collection holding as well as Collection House A. It was not until Collection House B where I viewed what I sought, potted on the floor next to the opening leading to the further portion of Collection House B. Getting closer I saw in more detail, the bright pink leaf with erected yellow spadix of Anthurium andraeanum, also called the flamingo flower. Taking my phone, I took a picture capturing the 3 prominent leaves with their spadices, ensuring to also capture the second pot to its left, which contained a smaller pink leaf and its spadix surrounded by the green leaves with the absence of these spadices. Coming out with a centered image of the lower standing Anthurium andraeanum on the left and the taller standing on the right (Fig. A). Examining the closest of the 3 prominent leaves with spadices, I took another picture with a birds-eye-view to capture the pink leaf and its spadix parallel with its green leaf which lied below (Fig. B). Intriguing to the image, was the shape of the pink leaf which resemble that of an inverted heart with the spadix up the center showing the green leaf as if it was connected in one line with the pink leaf. Further research pinpointed that Anthurium andraeanum is native to Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuelan Antilles, and Windward Islands, coloring these areas red on a blank map of North and South America (Fig. C) (Anthurium… n.d.). Congregating these figures with the picture of 3 prominent leaves and one smaller leaf above the lone leaf with spadix picture on the left portion. Both beside the vertically mapped range of the Anthurium andraeanum, which lay the height of the combined first two figures.

Photobleaching of LLC-Pk1 pig kidney epithelial cells was done with an open shutter and no neutral density filters for all three types of fluorophores. Time-lapse imaging data was collected and analyzed graphically for all three fluorophores (Figure 2). It is apparent that the DAPI labeled dsDNA has the highest initial intensity, and fastest rate of decay (Table 1). The rhodamine labeled f-actin holds both the lowest initial intensity value and rate of decay (Table 1). Fluorescein labeled tubulin have midrange values for both initial intensity and rate of decay (Table 1). 

Images of LLC-Pk1 pig kidney epithelial cells were taken under three different fluorescence filters in order to capture cellular structures stained with different fluorophores in the same region (Figure 1). These images were then superimposed on one another to create a comprehensive display of three cellular elements; dsDNA stained with DAPI (blue), tubulin stained with fluorescein (green), and f-actin stained with rhodamine (red). DAPI and fluorescein fluorophores showed visible fluorescence intensity and were captured in the image. The rhodamine stained f-actin did not appear in the composite image. Reasons for this disappearance is detailed in the Discussion.

Creating the Figure

    Four individual images were composited together in Inkscape to form the final figure. Each image was given a small letter in the upper left corner of the image, from A-D. The coordinates and dimensions of each image are located in the table below.

Today for physiology biology 510, we went over chapter 5 which was mineral nutrion. Learned what the mineral nutrition was and what minerals were essential to most of the living plants. Found out that there were many different techniques to grow a plant. One of them that I found most interesting was aerotonics which is when the plants are hung upside down by the roots and it is sprayed continuously with mineral nutrient. I thought this was very interesting and also there's hydrotonics which is when plants grow underwater so soil is not necessarily needed. There were many vocabularies to learn for this chapter and honestly it is pretty interesting topic than the previous ones so I'm excited.

It might be pretty common info that without sleep buildiung strength and muscle can be that much harder. A new study takes it a step further to explain the phenomenom and the specific explanations. Multiple exercises found that during resistance exercises strength was not sacrificed due to lack of sleep. But when there are multiple straight where sleep is restricted the maximum amount of force output is reduced during multi-joint exercises. But the force output for single joint exercises is not reduced. In the end researchers concluded that sleep is a vital part of building strength through exercise, specifically in multi-joint exercise programs. The researchers also included multiple strategies in order to prevent sleep loss, including no caffiene intake or trainging before long periods of being awake.