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Case 2

               Across the country, millions of students spend countless hours studying for what seems like endless assignments and exams. Some of these students decide to turn to ADHD drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse. These drugs are schedule II substances which are available by prescription only. They enhance focus and can be used to stay awake by raising levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Studies have shown that full time college students are twice as likely as students who did not go to college full time to take Adderall without a prescription. These studies have also shown that abuse of these ADHD drugs is much more common at more elite colleges. A second study found that about 30% of college students have used these stimulants non-medically, mostly for help studying (Yanes).

Isopentyl propionate, an ester, was synthesized using the method Fischer esterification, with the reagents 3-methyl butanol and propanoic acid.  Using 11 mmol of alcohol and 11 mmol of acid would theoretically yield 11 mmol of ester.  The carboxylic acid, propanoic acid, was used in slight excess (13 mmol) to ensure it reacts completely with the present alcohol.  The water formed in the reaction was removed from the solution using a distillation tube to ensure the reagents reacted completely.  Removing water would pull the reaction towards the products based on Le Chatelier’s principle.  Any remaining water was removed via backwashing and a drying agent, CaCl₂.  This procedure left a product expected to be isopentyl propionate, which was obtained in a 78% yield.  This could be due to inaccurate draining of the bottom layers from the tube.  Draining of the water back into the reaction could also account for the unreacted carboxylic acid stretch from 3535.52 cm^-1 to 3124.68 cm^-1 found in the IR results (attached at the end of this report).  The other impurities in the solution are not thought to be either of the reagents, acid or alcohol, due to the IR results.  The IR results are indicative of a C-H alkyl stretch at 2958.80 cm^-1.  There is a C=O ester stretch at 1739.79 cm^-1.  The third prominent peak, at approximately 1188.15 cm^-1, indicates there is a C-O stretch.  The isopentyl propionate had an odor characteristic of apple or pear when experimentally wafted.

Trimyristin was extracted from nutmeg via separation and purification procedures using heat and tert-butyl methyl ether. 0.309 grams of crude trimyristin was produced, which resulted in a 31.99% yield. 0.124 grams of trimyristin crystals were produced after recrystallization, which resulted in a 40.13% yield.The melting point of the crude product turned out to be 53-54 ˚C. A second recrystallization was performed and had produced 0.037 grams, which resulted in a 29.84% yield. The melting point obtained for the second recrystallization was 55-56 ˚C (Table 1). Both of the recrystallization melting points obtained were within two degrees, indicating relative purity. However, in both cases, the observed melting points was lower than the expected trimyristin melting point of 56-57 ˚C. This slight difference in the melting point suggests that there might have been a slight contamination during the experiment. The melting point of the second recrystallization was closer to the expected value, suggesting that the product had less impurities than the first recrystallization product. These results suggest that the obtained product is trimyristin.

A coupled reaction is a series of connected reactions that share products and substrates. The reactions increase efficiency of energy transfer, and allows more points of regulation. The regulation is important for conservation of energy and resources for the cell. In order for a coupled reaction to be favorable, the net delta G must be overall negative. This means the pathways cannot be direct opposites of each other because than the pathway would have a slightly positive making it unfavorable. Also the pathway would then be futile and waste energy.

There are numerous intricate processes involved in the determination and evolution of

male guppy coloration. Since guppies exhibit sexual dimorphism, sexual selection is likely a

prominent factor in varying levels of male showiness. The more ornate a guppy is, the more

likely it is to obtain a mate, reproduce, and pass on its genes. However, theses elaborate colors

also pose a threat to survival, as they attract predators. Therefore, the varying environments and

substrates will affect survival, because certain environments will provide more protection and

hiding spots from predators. Several hypotheses for varying levels of male showiness are:

1. When predators are present, the type of substrate will affect survival, resulting in a

change in spot brightness over time.

2. As predation increases, male guppy spot brightness will decrease, because higher spot

brightness attracts predators.

3. In the absence of predation, and at low predations levels, spot brightness will increase

due to sexual selection.

The cell wall provides many functions to the well being of a plant. First, the cell wall is strong and durable. This helps to protect the plant from the environment as well as pathogens. This durability also helps to support the plant during growth. If it wasn’t for the strength of the cell wall, the plant would wilt and not be able to grow upright. The strength of the cell wall also helps to anchor the plant to its environment. This allows the plant to survive without being easily uprooted. Aside from mechanical function, the cell wall also aids in transporting water and nutrients throughout the plant, as well as signaling and transferring information throughout the plant.

Cells treated with different stimuli demonstrate different patterns of cytosolic calcium fluctuations due to the nature of the stimuli interaction with the cell. ATP stimulated cells demonstrate oscillatory calcium concentrations due to the negative feedback loops of the signaling pathway that allow calcium influx and export to be halted and resumed on a continuum. Bradykinin stimulated cells are stimulated by G-protein receptors, which when stimulated commence a signaling cascade which opens calcium ion channels on the plasma membrane of the cell. The nature of G-protein coupled receptors can be variable with respect to response, so this delayed and segmented response of fluo-4 is expected. Vasopressin stimulated cells exhibited no change in cytosolic concentration over time, despite common scientific literature stating an oscillatory response is expected. This lack of response in the cells to vasopressin could be due to insufficient time of cells observed, in which the cytosolic calcium did in fact fluctuate, but later in time and was not visualized in the time lapse. Another reason for this disappearance in fluo-4 intensity fluctuation could be due to inadequate addition of the vasopressin stimulus, so that cells were unable to react to the vasopressin.

It is of high belief that exercising helps burn calories therefore helps lose weight. However, recent data has been aimed to disproving this belief. The claim is that exercise will not help lose weight and can infact cause an increase in weight. It was stated that the majority of calorie burn is in the basal metabolic rate, or energy used in resting bodily functions, followed by energy used to break down food. It was viewed that calorie burn from exercise makes up only about a quarter of total calorie burn. As much as this seems to be a good portion, there come consequences with calorie burn from exercise. Many consume food after doing physical activity, where the first claim comes. Many eat large portions of food after exercising, many to be unhealthy food. An hour of calorie burn can be easily matched with 5 minutes of eating unhealthy food. Many intake more calories than they need post exercise with counters their physical exercise burn. The second claim is that many feel tired and lazy after working out and therefore slumping and being much more inactive than if they did not work out in the first place, this then prevents more calorie burn to aid in weight loss. A healthy diet is key to weight loss, physical activity alone will not induce weight loss if not connected with a proper diet.

In the article “Experimental evidence for a mismatch between insect emergence and waterfowl hatching under increased spring temperatures,” it states that insect emergence is mainly driven by temperature. This article shows that even changing a few degrees of temperature will affect whether insects will thrive or not. This information can be used to take into consideration the variation in temperature within both Morrill buildings and within the different floors. If the weather is hotter, there will be more insects or organisms present. If the weather is colder, there will be less. Therefore, if the temperature inside a certain part of the building is hotter, there will be more organisms present. If the temperature is colder, there will be less.

An inhibitor we would use to target TLR3 is (R)-2-(3-chloro-6-fluorobenzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxamido)-3-phenylpropanoic acid (4a). This inhibitor is also referred to as compound 4a. It is an antagonist to TLR3 signaling and it inhibits the expression of downstream signaling pathways that are assisted by the TLR3/dsRNA complex. This compound is able to inhibit TLR3 signaling without affecting other types of TLRs. This illustrates it's highly selectivity characteristic. It also holds the property of being low cytotoxicity. In order to further emphasize that it directly binds to TLR3, a fluorescence anisotropy assay will be used to demonstrate that it competes with dsRNA, which is known to be involved in activating TLRs.