cslavin's blog

For cockatiels, the minimum power output was 1.3W at a speed of 5 ms^-1. The maximum power output was 3.7W at a speed of 14 ms^-1. For doves, the minimum power output was 4.3W at a speed of 7 ms^-1. The maximum power output was 7.5W at a speed of 17 ms^-1. The mass-specific power output of the dove was higher than the cockatiel at all speeds except 14 ms^-1.  Wing-beat in cockatiels was minimum at 9 ms^-1. It was 7 to 13 ms^-1 in doves. These results did not support the idea that minimum wing-beat frequency corresponded to the birds’ minimum power speed. Instead, they showed a close relationship between work and power. When compared to the mechanical power curve of the magpie, cockatiels and doves had a much higher mass-specific pectoralis power output. Although the magpie has the morphology and pectoralis muscles to support faster flight, the shape of their wings limited maximum forward velocity. Having broad, rounded wings and a long tail resulted in a lower drag/thrust ration and increased drag. On the other hand, the cockatiel and dove have pointed wings and experienced less drag and a higher drag/thrust ratio which allowed them to fly at higher velocities.  Additionally, magpies have a unique flight style in which wing-beat gait, flight velocity and altitude was constantly changed. This style could have potentially been limiting on power output.  Overall, the results of cockatiels and doves mechanical power curves did not support the aerodynamic theory at low and high velocities. The pectoral power used at slow speeds was predicted to be too high, and the pectoral power used at fast speeds was predicted to be too low. 

Fish use body undulations to swim, which creates water movements with great acceleration behind the fish. The form of the wave is similar among most fish, but number, speed, and amplitude change of the wave can all vary. There is little known about how the COM of fish changes with swimming speed. However, it is known that the COM can change in all three dimensions: surge, sway, and heave. The COM of three fish were calculated in all three directions. Surge COM displacement and acceleration in eels and bluegill sunfish oscillated at twice the tail beat frequency, while the sway COM displacement and acceleration oscillated at the tail beat frequency. Surge COM oscillations did not change with swimming speed, while sway oscillations increased with increasing swimming speed. Sway amplitudes increased with increased swimming speed in bluegill sunfish, but the same was not true for the eels. 

The original figure was screenshotted with no space around the image. The replicate figure has a white border around the entirety of the figure. This could have been caused by taking a larger screenshot. The screenshot may have also captured part of the white microsoft word document, and therefore it could have resulted in the white boarder and white space above the textboxes. The original layout was also much smaller than the replicate layout. This could be due to an increased pixel count in the replicate figure. The original figure had a pixel count of 600, while the replicate figure had a pixel count of 1200. This could have caused the increased size of the figure when it was uploaded. 

Factors that may have impacted the results of the different layouts in the Figure 1, the original, and Figure 2, the replicate, were the size of the screenshots taken and a different pixel count. The size of the screenshot taken could have been larger in the replicate causing a white border and space above the textboxes. Doubling the pixel count in the replicate could have been the reason the replicate is larger than the original. Factos that may have resulted in the differences in between the photographs in Figure 1 and Figure 2 were the weather, the distance from the tree, and the camera angle. The original photographs were taken on a muggy day with no snow on the ground, while the replicate photographs were taken on a day with snow on the ground. the tree in the replicate photographs "a" and "b" appeared smaller and showed more background, which could have been because the camera angleand a greater distance stood away from the tree. There were greater amounts of moss in photograph "c" of the replicate, but they appeared smaller in size which could be due to a greater distance stood away from the treen while the photograps were being taken. 

Factors that may have impacted the results of the different layouts were the size of the screenshots taken and a different pixel count. The original figure, Figure 1, was screenshotted with no space left around the image. The replicate figure, Figure 2, could have been screenshotted leaving just a small amount of white space around the figure, which resulted in a white border. Having this white caused the textboxes to have a slight space above them in the replicate. The larger size of the replicate photo could have been due to a different pixel count. The replicate figure had about 1200 pixels, while the original figure had 600 pixels. 

Factors that may have impacted the results of the differences between the colors in the original and replicate figure was the weather. The original photographs were taken on a muggy day with no snow on the ground, while the replicate photographs were taken on a day with snow on the ground. The tree appeared lighter in the replicate due to the brightness from the snow. The tree in the original figure was also damp, making it darker. The darker tree bark created greater contrast between the tree color and the moss, which made the moss more visable in the original. 

Factors that may have impacted the results of different tree size and backgrounds in the photographs of the two figures were the distance from the tree and the camera angle. The snow also was a reason for the difference in backgrounds. The photographs taken in the original were taken at a closer distance than the photographs in the replicate. The tree takes up more of the photograph and there is less background in the original photographs than the replicate. The angle of the camera also captures more background in the right side of the replicate, including the library which is not visibile in the original photograph.  The snow in the replicate is also a difference in the background. 

The greater number and smaller size of the moss in the replicate is also due to the distance from the tree. The greater distance allowed more moss to be present in the replicate photographs, but they appeared to be smaller. 

The original, Figure 1., and the replicate, Figure 2., had differences in layout and between each individual photo. The layout differences were in size, boarder, and space above textboxes. The differences observedin photo "a" of each figure were the size of tree, the amount of background, the color, and the snow. The differences observed in photo "b" were the size of the tree, the background, the snow, the size of the sign, and the colors of the tree and the sign. The differences observed in photo "c" were the colors, the size and amount of moss, and the grooves on the tree. 

The layout differences were in size, border, and space above textboxes. The replicate, Figure 2, was much larger than the original, Figure 1. There was a white border around the replicate; there was no border around the original. There was also a space above the textboxes of the replicate, while there was no space above the textboxes in the original. 

Blood flow matter for individual tissues due to the fact the blood delivers nutrietns and removes waste. When a person is exercising, blood flow increases. Therefore, the delivery of nutrients and removal of waste also increases. The structure of blood vessels consist of three layers: tunica intima, tunica media, and tunica externa. The functional tissue of the tunica intima is endothelim with some elastic tissue in larger vessels. This layer is the internal layer of the vessel. The tunica media is the middle layer and consists of smooth tissue. The tunica externa is the outer layer which is made of mostly collagen. In the systemic system, the order of the vessels from the left ventricle to the right atrium are the aorta, elastic arteries, muscular arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venule, small vien, large viens, and then the vena cava. The capillaries are the smallest of the vessels, where exchange between extracellular space and blood occurs. The exchange occurs through a diffusion down the concentration gradient. 

Factors that may have impacted the results are the weather, the distance from the tree, and the camera angle. The weather may have played a role in impacting the colors and contrast of the tree and moss. The original photos were taken on a muggy day before there was any snowfall. The replicate photo was taken with snowfall on the ground; the tree looks drier and the moss is not as clearly seen. The white snow could have caused the phone brightness to be greater thus resulting in the poor contrast between the moss and the tree. The distance from the tree could play a part in why the tree appears larger in the original photos than in the replicate. The replicate photos were most likely taken from a slightly greater distance from the tree causing the tree to appear smaller and the background to appear larger. The angle of the camera may have caused the proportion of the tree to be larger at the top than in the bottom in the replicate. It also may have caused some of the background differences, like the presence of the library. 

The methods project requires students to construct a multi-panel scientific figure of an interspecific interaction on the UMass Amherst campus and write a detailed methods section describing how it will be made. The goal of the project is to be as specific as possible so that another student can replicate the figure, because a primary goal of science is replication. The multi-panel scientific figure was constructed of three pictures of an interaction between a tree and moss. The differences observed between each of the three photos consisted of color, size, number, background, and contrast. These differences may have resulted from the weather, differences in distance from the tree, and differences in angle of the camera.

A simple endocrine loop is one that involves only one hormone and maintains homeostasis. Most loops are stimulated by a humoral stimuli, or a change in interstitual fluid. An example of a simple endocrine loop is the parathyriod hormone. When there is a decrease in blood calcuim, the parathyroid glad acts as a sensor and control center, recognizing the change and signalling to an effort tissue. The effector, the parathyroid gland, releases the parathyroid hormone, which effects the bones, kidneys, and digestive tract. In the bones, osteoclasts break down bone and release calcium. The kidneys and digestive tract increase calcium reabsorption. Calcium levels increase in the blood until the normal level of blood calcium is achieved. A complex endocrine loop uses multiple hormones and has varied responses. For example, thyroid hormone is released when the body needs to increase metabolism. The signal goes to the hypothalamus which produces thyroid releasing hormone, which stimulates the anterior pituitary gland. The anterior pituitary glad then relases thyroid stimulating hormone which stimulates the thyriod gland to release thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone stimulates every cell in the body with a receptor for thyroid hormone to increase metabolism, heat generation, and growth and devlopment.