Drafts

The factors that determine power are Replicants, Experimental noise (random variation) Experimental design (the various aspects, but a simpler design has more power), P-Value cutoff (usually P = 0.05), and How strong the treatment effect is (how big the difference is between treatment and control mean; stronger effect = more power). The power of our experiment is 84.2% (842 successful/1000 total). The probability that we get valid results is 0.842. The probability that we don’t get these results is 1 minus the power of design; 1-0.842=0.158, a 15.8% chance that water temperature doesn’t affect mating behavior. This would be a Type II error because a Type II error is the probability of falsely concluding there is no effect of treatments, when there really is a treatment effect. The probability that we would incorrectly conclude that water treatment did have an effect would be 0.05, since this is the cutoff for a significant alpha value. Since we would be rejecting a true null hypothesis, this would be a Type I error.

If JH suppresses critical weight transition while delaying metamorphosis, then the larvae growth period is longer, resulting in a larger size. The article describes that juvenile hormone controls the body size and delays the metamorphosis of the larva, causing it to be in the larva stage for longer. The control will be a vial with flies and no JH. The treatments will be the flies and the various JH concentrations: 0.1 μM, 1.0 μM, and 10 μM. Our hypothesis would be supported if the flies in the higher concentrations of JH are larger than the flies in the control group and groups of lower concentration. Our hypothesis would not be supported if the flies in the vial with higher concentrations of JH were the same size or smaller than those of the control group or lower concentrations.

The partial pressure of oxygen moves via concentration gradient towards areas of lesser oxygen in the body. When a breath is inhaled, the partial pressure is at its highest. In mammilian systems, the lungs take oxygen via a universal pool of oxygen and other gasses. Oxygen is trasported into the bloodstream, where the partial pressure of oxygen is significantly lower than the partial pressure of oxygen found in the inhaled breath. This causes the oxygen to diffuse into the blood stream where it is transported throughout the body. Cells that are oxygen deprived pick up oxygen from red blood cells that will eventually return to the lungs. Therefore, the blood returning to the lungs have the least partial pressure of oxygen, and the blood leaving from the lungs will have a higher partial pressure. However, in mammilian systems, the exhaled air will have a greater partial pressure of oxygen compared to the oxygenated blood because most of the oxygen we inhale is not transferred efficiently into the system.

Mitra et al. did a nice experiment in which they antagonized the CAF phenotype of the three micro RNAs mentioned.  In CAFs, reversal of miR-31 and miR-214 downregulation and reversal of miR-155 upregulation caused reversion of CAFs to a normal phenotype.  Designing a treatment based off of these results seems like a logical plan.  We will use liposomal delivery to insert complementary miR-31 and miR-214 as well as a complementary strand to miR-155.  Fibroblast activated protein (FAP) and a-smooth muscle actin (aSMA) are two cell surface antigens of epithelial ovarian cancer CAFs (Mhawech-Fauceglia et. al).  We will engineer a liposome with monoclonal antibodies that can bind to these two cell surface antigens in order to target the CAFs.  

I took some emergen-c the other day because I was starting to feel sick. It has 1000 mg of vitamin c in it, the recommended daily dose is only 75 mg. So I started thinking isn’t 1000 mg a little bit of overkill and I’m pretty sure that it is. Vitamin c is water soluble and is easily washed out of the body. It is additionally easily washed out of the food we cook. So maybe the excess vitamin c is to make sure that the body gets all of it in it’s system. But then the question comes to mind of why the recommended daily dose is only at 75 mg. I am really curious as to how much vitamin c the body actually uses from intake versus what it gets rid of or is unable to use. I’m not convinced that emergen-c actually help your immune system, I think that a cup of orange juice would have the same effect. The cup of orange juice actually has over 75 mg of vitamin c in so you should be all set. I also saw that for smokers the vitamin c recommended dose is increased by 35 mg daily. I wonder if your body processing the smoke takes away from the vitamin c that your body needs.

The diversity of organisms in soil is critical to all environments as these organisms play an important role in the cycling of ecosystem nutrients. Biodiversity within soil helps create a stable ecosystem by offering protection and regulation to these crops. However, it is not well understood the effects that pesticides and the management of orchards have on these living organisms. In this proposal, we aim to collect and analyze soil samples that will aid us in investigating the correlation between active and inactive orchards within 50 miles of Amherst, Massachusetts. Effectively gathering an even distribution sample of the different orchards and filtering out the living organisms from the soil are fundamental steps in beginning to evaluate the sample. The organisms extracted will be observed through a microscope and identified based on the number of species. While many chemical treatments are used for pest control in modern day farming, these pesticides could have threatening impacts to our ecosystem. These pesticides are not only killing off many of the essential living organisms, but could affect the longevity of these orchards. pose a threat to the health and safety of our ecosystem. 

Now that tracking has been done and clear information on life of the Mephitis scandere has been documented there is a better understanding on how they live. The species is also be referred to as the “Climbing skunk” and lives mostly in the trees of North American forests. The environment the species is used to has an average temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, with mild summers and winters reaching below freezing point.1 Temperatures stay consistent throughout the day and night due to the moist air that surrounds the forest. There is an average of 75 to 150 cm of rainfall every year with the most rain falling during the summer months.1 There are a variety of different trees that live in the biome that the “Climbing skunk” uses to navigate through the forest and shield itself from predators.

When they are not spending their time on trees the species can be found hidden away in empty hollow logs or under bushes during the long winter months. During the winter they do not exert a lot of energy and live off of the brown fat that is stored in their bodies. During the warmer seasons they eat anything that they can find including lizards, insects, leaves, and other plants. They climb trees to get access to different leaves and insects but also roams the grounds in search of food. Their life in trees is mainly for them to be hidden away from any predators that lurk around. That is why the species is most often seen climbing trees and hanging onto branches. Although the species can be seen as a solitary one after they hit sexual maturity, once a family is formed they tend to stick together as social creatures and protect one another. Usually huddling together in dens or logs during the cold winter months to keep warm. Most of their life outside of the den is spent eating or looking for food and caring for their offspring.

The species is able to ward off predators such as bears and other attackers thanks to two glands on the side of their anus. The odor that is secreted is a mixture of chemicals that warns the predators to back off. They are able to emit the scent before they reach maturity at only a month old. This species only lives up to five years and reach sexual maturity at the age of one for females and one and a half for males. Females reproduce once a year and typically give birth to 1 to 5 babies in late Spring. The offspring stays close to the mother until they are one year old due to the fact that they are born without their eyes open. This means they are very dependent on their mothers during the early stages of life. The father is the one to usually go out and hunt while the offspring stay latched onto the nipples of the females hidden away in a small pouch that protects them from the outside environment found in the underbelly of the female.

Although most animals in temperate forests survive the winter months by migrating or hibernating this species does neither, like its relative the Mephitis mephitis. They remain inactive during the winter months and survive by using the fat that is stored within their bodies, they leave their dens during the summer and in the winter only when temperatures is above freezing. The Mephitis scandere has brown pelage that covers its body the perfect color to help it camouflage in its environment. They have a thin white stripe on their forehead that goes down to its snout and the thin white line also runs along its dorsum. They have a prehensile tail that allows them to grip onto tree branches, they use their tails to stay hanging on branches while they eat, to avoid any predators that may be lurking around. The tail is thinner and resembles those of monkeys and is usually curled at the tip. The hands of the Mephitis scandere resembles those of primates meaning they are able to move their fingers a lot more freely then the majority of animals. This allows them to easily climb up and down the trees as well as to easily search for food.