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Electrocardiograms measure the electrical impulse of the heart. The p wave is a measure of the atrial depolarization. The QRS complex is a measure of the ventricular depolarization and also atrial repolarization, however becasue ventrical depolarization is more powerful the atrial repolarization cannot be seen easily. The t wave represents ventrical repolarization. To calculate heart rate from an ECG, you count the number of boxes inbetween the two R intervals and divide 1500 by that number. A normal heart rate lies between 60-100 bpm. When the heart rate is below 60 it is called bradycardia, and when the heart rate is above 100 it is called trachycardia. There are many abnormalities that cause an ECG to appear funky. An AV blockage can cause the ECG to appear like the p wave is moving around or will be missing an QRS complex. Right bundle branch blockage (RBBB) can make the R intervals appear to be next to each other. Left bundle branch blockage (LBBB) can cause the S wave to appear like abnormal. Preventricular contraction (PVC) can cause random abnormalities through out the entire ECG. Left ventricular hypertension can cause the S segment to appear extremely long. Right ventricular hypertension can cause the R segment to be extremely elongated. 

Laboratories are classified based upon biosafety levels that range from biosafety 1 to biosafety 4. Biosafety level 4 is considered the most dangerous of the classifications. This classification is so dangerous because the pathogens studied in these labs are easily transmitted, have a high mortality rate, and have no known cure. An example of a pathogen studied in a biosafety level 4 laboratory would be the Ebola virus. While the Ebola virus is only spread through direct contact with the infected hosts fluids it can pose a huge threat if it is released. There are many safety precautions that are associated with a biosafety level 4 laboratory. One precaution is that everyone entering the lab must decontaminate themselves, this is also true for exiting the facility. When in the lab all personnel must wear a positive pressure suit, this ensures that even if the suit is cut or damage no airflow will be allowed into the suit. Any air entering the facility is filtered and any air leaving is double filtered. Biosafety level 4 laboratories must remain secure at all times or they could pose an incredible threat to the general public.    

The world is currently in the middle of the second deadliest Ebola outbreak. More than 1,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Augst 2018. It has killed approximately 2/3rds of the people it has infected, 629 people to be exact. Ebola works by being transmitted through bodily fluids and can enter the perosn’s body through cuts in the skin or through mucous membranes. Symptoms include exhaustion, aches and pains, vision problems and stomach pain. In most patients, Ebola escalates rather quickly usually to the point of a hemorrhagic fever which leads to bleeding, organ failure and sometimes death.

Karyotyping is a representation of chromosomes captured at metaphase. When the chromosomes reach the metaphase phase, the division is halted and then the chromosomes are arranged by size into a karyotype. There are several different kinds of banding including, G-banding, Q-banding, C-banding, and R-banding. G-banding dyes heterochromatin in the chromosomes, Q-banding finds areas rich in A-T vs. G-T and dyes them to identify the homologous chromosomes. C-banding dyes centromeric heterochromatin and R-banding is the reverse of G-banding . Today, softwares can analyze the banding types once it is dyed and arrange them. Moreover, DNA in the nucleus are found in two forms, heterochromatin and euchromatin. Heterochromatin is tightly packed DNA material, whereas euchromatin is loosely packed chromosomes that become active during transcription.

There are many different levels of biosafety in laboratories. They range from 1 to 4. 4 being the most extreme level. Biosafety level 4 is used for studying pathogens that have an unknown cure, high transmission rate, with high pathogenicity. For example something like the Ebola virus would be biosafety level 4 just because Ebola can so easily kill the host that it infects. While Ebola is only spread through direct contact with the infected hosts fluids it can pose a huge threat if a pathogen at this level escapes into the general public. There are many safety precautions that are associated with a laboratory of this level. Everyone must decontaminate before coming into the lab and especially when leaving it. When leaving you must shower in the suit you wore in the lab take that off and decontaminate it then shower again. The suits that you wear are filled with positive pressure. Positive pressure means that if the suit you are wearing ever rips then the oxygen in the suit will flow out and not allow air in. Positive pressure helps keeps the pathogens out of your suit at all times, it is essential that this is a feature in the suits so that no one in the laboratory gets infected with a pathogen that they are working on.  

There is one hypothesis on how females choose a mate. It is called the "good genes hypothesis" where females will base her mate choice based on how the male looks. So in this case, most males will exhibit flashy exaggerated plumage to attract as much females as possible. The good-gene is not only looking at the brightness of the plumage though. In some birds, these plumage color can depend on their diet so by looking at the plumage, health condition can be observed. To know if the male is healthy and not consumed by parasites, females must have the ability to see if the male has the desirable trait or not is viral.

After acquiring our materials, we will check the local orchards in our area to see if we are able to get permission to obtain the samples. Once we have confirmation that the samples can be taken we have to arrange transportation. Of the 9 locations 3 of them, Kielbasa orchards, South Hadley farm and sentinel farm are accessible via the public bus system while the other 5 require a Car to reach. The exception to this is the sample taken from Orchard hill which is on campus and easily able to be accessed. If there is a lack of ability for us to transport to these locations then one possible alternative would be looking into borrowing the vans from the biology department.

Once we have reached our target area we will begin taking the soil samples. The location that the samples will be taken from will be determined using a z formation taking a sample from each corner of the orchard and one from the center for a total of 5 samples per area. Using the either the soil auger or a hand trowel we will dig out our soil. The samples should be from around 6 inches deep and should be approximately ( X ) in size. We will collect these samples in one bag per area resulting in a rough average sample of the soil composition for the area.

We have focused our research on EMT thus far. The p53-miR-200c pathway, which is included in the family of miR200s that inhibit EMT, inhibits the activity of transcription factor ZEB when p53 is present in high levels. miR200s can also upregulate e-cadherin, possibly allowing for MET (https://www.nature.com/articles/cdd201142#s1). Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) in high levels can lead to apoptosis, but in low levels can lead to cell growth. In cancer cells, antioxidant proteins also work to maintain ROS at a specific functional level (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167488916302324). If used in treatment, specific levels of ROS would need to be determined to obtain the desired apoptotic effect. Additionally, levels of ROS in cancer cells would need to be increased to saturate these antioxidant proteins, or these proteins would need to be eliminated altogether. Perhaps ROS could somehow be incorporated into the interior of the exosome as well.

Each group will be assigned a unique area of the UMass campus. Each group will then use the Frank A. Waugh Arboretum at UMass Amherst website to identify the species of trees that produce fruit available in their area. We will note the number of trees within each species and go on site to count the number of fruit on all or, if there are too many trees of that species, 10 trees. This information about the kinds, number, and fruit of the species in each area will be shared with the whole class. The average number and standard deviation of fruit per tree will be calculated for each species.

Each group will also be assigned a species of songbird that is known to migrate through Massachusetts, and each group will research what kinds of fruits their songbird consumes. Based on the density of tree species and their fruiting ability within each area, we will determine which area(s) the bird will be attracted to. We will also determine what kinds of trees need to be planted where in order for the songbird to be present throughout campus.