Drafts

Once pyruvate is formed from glucose it can be used in multiple pathways. Gluconeogenesis is the anabolic synthesis of glucose from pyruvate, but it is not the exact reverse of glycolysis. Pyruvate can also participate in two different catabolic processes: fermentation and slow cellular respiration. Fermentation happens when oxygen is low or energy is needed quickly, and there are two kinds: homolactic fermentation, which occurs in muscle cells, red blood cells, and some bacteria, and alcoholic fermentation, which occurs in yeast and some bacteria. The purpose of this fast anaerobic respiration is to regenerate NAD+ so that glycolysis can continue, and it does not generate additional ATP. Slow cellular respiration occurs when there is enough oxygen and the need for energy is not urgent. In slow respiration, pyruvate is used to synthesize acetyl-CoA to be further oxidized. Acetyl-CoA is an acetyl group attached to coenzyme A and is the central molecule in metabolism of fuel molecules. Formation of acetyl-CoA from pyruvate by a pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is the “point of no return” in carbohydrate metabolism. It cannot be converted back to pyruvate.

Overall ojective: to identify the diveristy of volunteer plants that grow with the same host species that is grown in two different environments: an individualy potted and group potted. Specific Aim 1. Identify the number of different volunteer species growing with the host plant in an individual and group potted environment. Groups will take pictures and count the number of different volunteer species growing with a host planted in an individual pot in the Morrill Greenhouse and in a group pot in the Durfee Greenhouse. This aim will provide data for analysis in aim 2. Specific Aim 2. Identify the species of volunteer plants growing with the host species in an individual and group potted environment. Groups will use Greenhouse weeds in the Botanical Garden of Pas in Warsaw-Powsi to identify the species of volunteer plants growing with their host species in the individual and group pots (Halin and Halin 1999).

Our results yield an outcome that refutes the prior hypothesis we had made. Because a lower Shannon Index results in a higher species diversity, we would have expected that the Sylvan area would have a lower number than Orchard Hill. Our results give us a Shannon Index for Sylvan that is higher than that of Orchard Hill, telling us that the area around the Hill has a higher species diversity than Sylvan. While these results don’t match our expectations, there are a few explanations as to why. First of all, the area around Orchard Hill may be more ideal for plant life (ex. Less predators, easy access to rain). From the blind eye, we pointed the stream in Sylvan out as a huge factor favoring species diversity- yet other factors may have also been in effect. Another reason for our results can be due to the method and how the experiment was conducted. This experiment was very open to human error, and the results may not have been completely correct. Identifying, counting, and making sure to stay in the area allotted was difficult to do; and it was hard to collect data without injuring the environment around us by trampling over everything. We had originally set out to get at least 15 different species from each area, which ended up being tough to do.

In this experiment, our goal was to test the differences in species diversity in two different environments. Species diversity is the abundance of, not only many organisms, but many different species in a given area. Greater diversity gives us greater variety, something that has been crucial to life as we know it today. There are a variety of different factors that contribute to species diversity, and include but are not limited to environmental factors such as pollution and weather. We selected Orchard Hill and Sylvan as our test grounds because we were driven to have two diverse and unique areas compared to other lab groups. In the environments we observed groundcover plants, vines and shrubs the spanned across the forests. It was our prediction that the test grounds around the Sylvan residential area would have the highest species diversity as opposed to orchard hill. The environmental factors surrounding Sylvan lead to our formal hypothesis; The more abundant resources and healthy environment is in an area, the higher the species diversity of that area will be- particularly as opposed to another area of lesser quality. Measuring our results on the Shannon Index, we expected to see that Sylvan had a lower Index number that Orchard Hill.

New research shows how our brains deal with traumatic memories and what happens when the memories rush back. We have known that the amygdala has been the part of the brain that is in charge of fear. However, a new technique shows that reliving trauma and moving past it depends on two groups found in the hippocampus. They used a technique called activity-dependent neural tagging to see where there is activity or not. They were able to flood in traumatic experiences with mice and see the activity.

         First the extraction was performed. Ground nutmeg (0.995 g, 2.573 mmol), tert-butyl methyl ether (3.0 mL, 251.843 mmol), and three boiling chips were placed in a round-bottomed (RB) flask, and the distillation column was attached to the RB flask using a black connector. The flask was lowered completely into the aluminum black of the hot plate, set to 250 °C. Carefully adjust the position of the flask so that the mixture boils very gently. The mixture in the flask was heated to boiling for 10 minutes, then removed from the heat and allowed to cool to room temperature. A micro-scale filtration assembly was prepared, with a 25 mL Erlenmeyer flask placed underneath. The contents of the RB flask were transferred gradually via pipet into the filtration apparatus. A rinse was done on the remaining solid in the RB flask using fresh tert-butyl methyl ether (2.0 mL, 16.789 mmol), which was then heated and filtered again. The solvent in the Erlenmeyer flask was evaporated until only crude trimyristin remained in the form of a gummy yellowish solid.

"What is your biggest weakness?" Tends to be a question I've been getting a lot within the past few weeks as I interview for a variety of summer internships. I've come to realize that I've got plenty of weaknesses as does any other individual, but a weakness that I've been struggling the most with ever since the beginning of my college career has to be time management. Being the kind of person that I am, I tend to take on plenty of responsibilities and end up juggling them all at once. Thankfully, I've been able to pin point what exactly it was that needed to be changed. I dont think I've fully tackled the issue itself, but have definitly gotten control of it as I have been planning out my schedules in advance. By doing this, I have about 2 planners and a calander up in my room with reminders. Being able to keep track of assignments, meetings and exams have certainly helped with my time management this junior year. 

Usually, temperatures in the 20s and 30s don’t seem that warm but for the northernmost city in Alaska, they are abnormally high for the month of March. The artic has been experiencing temperatures 36 degrees above normal when compared to temperatures from the past three decades. These temperatures have serious implications for humans who live there. It is hurting the economies by making fishing and crabbing done on ice essentially impossible. People have been falling through the ice and died. The melting ice also has an impact on pavement and structures too because it causes the frozen soil to shift.