Perfect Paragraph

     Male manakins are most popularly known for the “moonwalk” dance in order to attract potential female partners. This unique and amusing type of dance plays a crucial role in attracting a female manakins. The dance mainly consists of movements and sounds which includes fast movements up and down the branch (the “moonwalk”), snapping their wings to make noise, shooting between his perch and his surroundings, flying in circles around then swooping, and finally spinning to reveal their bright yellow legs. By utilizing this behavior, they attract potential mating partners, and the variations in the mating dance is what causes attraction in females. These variations can be observed and recorded, and behavioral flow charts can then be constructed to determine what specific variations cause female attraction, as well as what causes attention retention to increase in females.

The first multi-panel scientific figure, Figure 1, was the figure in which the Methods section was based on. The second multi-panel scientific figure, Figure 2, was constructed using the Methods section provided. Both figures were constructed using Microsoft Word. Additionally both figures portray the parasitic interaction between the English Ivy (Hendera helix) and the Sweet Olive tree (Osmanthus fragrans) found inside the Durfee Conservatory located on the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Four main observational differences were observed between Figure 1 and Figure 2. First, Figure 2 is significantly darker in color than the original figure. Although they both contain a yellow-tinted background, the replicate Figure 2 displays a dark yellow, orange color. In contrast, I observed a light, yellow-beige color in Figure 1.

The photographs in Figure 2 have a different tone of natural light shining on the plants, the light is more apparent and golden, casting shadows. In Figure 1, the natural lighting in the photographs display a more bright, constant lighting throughout the photos without casting any shadows. Additionally in Figure 2 the arrows used on the photo “parasitism” are both angled horizontally, pointing towards the left direction. In contrast, in Figure 1 in the “parasitism” photo, the two arrows are facing opposite directions.The blue arrow is pointing in the right direction and the red arrow is pointing in the left direction. The arrows in Figure 1 have a shorter width than the arrows in Figure 2. Finally in Figure 1 the photographs size ~3.9” in height by a ~3.1” width, however in Figure 2, the size of the photographs are significantly less than this size range.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) on the brain was used in attempt to find a way to allow stroke patients to recover their motor skills. Strokes are the leading cause of motor impairments in people. A stroke is caused by an interruption of blood supply to the brain. Depending on which part of the brain was affected their motor skills range in severity. Someone who had a stroke would have to go to physical therapy to regain the motor skills that they had before. Though everyone is different, on average a person would be limited for 8 years or more before they can regain their motor efficiency. TDCS would increase the synaptic plasticity, meaning it changes how the neurons are excited. The neurons would have a lower threshold, meaning that it would require less excitatory signals to send a signal. Which would allow the stroke patients to use less effort compared to a healthy human to send a signal for movement. When comparing stroke patients who went through TDCS and patients who did not, it was found that TDCS did not work as planned. The results showed that the retention of motor skills between the use of TDCS and not were equal. Memory of how to do the motor skill were not remembered, just like patients that did go through TDCS. Therefore, TDCS did not improve anything and would be unnecessary as a treatment for stroke patients.

The arms race between diseases and the human race will never end. It is something that  mankind will always have to find a way to cope with. There are certain measures we can take to slowdiseases down that we try and perfect every year. Viruses like the Flu though, are quickly evolving which makes it very hard to have and make vaccines to suppress them. (“The Escape of Pathogens: an evolutionary arms race”) It is important to keep trying to take these measures though as we must try and prevent as many people as possible from getting disease. The only way to do this is to study the evolutionary processes of these diseases so we are better equipped to fight them. It is at least known for bacteria that we can use anti-biotics to treat the diseases even though we constantly have to manipulate them; for viruses this is not the case. (“Antibiotic resistance: delaying the inevitable”) Antibiotics will not kill the viruses and this will just harm you in the long run by allowing it to flurish.

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. 

The interspecific interaction I chose to photograph was between a moss and a tree. I chose this specifically because unlike motile animals, a tree stays in place and can easily be located by another photographer. The tree that I chose is set apart from other trees due to its distinct name “Honey Locust” otherwise known as Gleditsia Tracanthos. I took multiple images from different distances in order to showcase the interaction from a variety of angles. In my methods I sought to control multiple aspects of photography. I made sure the sign “Honey Locust” appeared in at least one of my photos. I specified the contents of the background of each image. I also specified which parts of the tree were visible in the image. In creating a figure, I attentively recorded sizes and colors of labels on the figure so that they could be easily replicated.

The expected results were that gram positive endospores would survive pasteurization at 70 degrees celsius for 15 minutes. Endospores were expected to be isolated because the isolated microorganisms were coming from a soil sample. Soil is relatively low in nutrients and nutrient deprivation is what causes endospores to form. Some bacteria have the ability to produce endospores by sporulation. Because endospores are dehydrated (leaving them metabolically inactive) and covered in a thick layer consisting of peptidoglycan and proteins, they are able to withstand high temperatures. The soil samples were pasteurized at 70 degrees celsius in hopes that all vegetative cells would be killed and only protected endospores would be left. The endospores were expected to be gram positive due to their thick peptidoglycan layer, a defining characteristic of gram positive organisms.

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the major health complications found in people with diabetes across the globe. The many causes and symptoms of neuropathy have been widely studied, but the best way to improve preexisting neuropathy or prevent neuropathy from happening has yet to be found. One method of both preventing and improving diabetic neuropathy that has been studied is exercise. Studies have found positive effects of various forms of exercise on different types of patients with diabetes. Previous studies have attempted to identify the role and potential benefit of exercise in diabetic neuropathy. To better delineate the benefit of exercise in type 1 diabetes we propose to conduct a 3-month study comparing the effects of aerobic vs. resistance exercise on neuropathy

Ultrasounds are frequently used in the medical field to examine a specific region in the body’s inside. A few purposes include diagnosing pain, investigating infections, or examining a baby fetus in a woman's uterus. Furthermore, the procedure to perform an ultrasound is simple and requires minimal preparation, which makes it favorable to practice by nurses and doctors for their patients. In addition, ultrasounds are a safe and painless process that involves a probe and an application of ultrasound gel on the skin’s surface to inspect inside the body. High frequency sound waves are then transmitted through the probe and penetrate through the gel into the body. The machine then collects the sound waves and transforms them to create an image on the screen that can be analyzed. Not only can an image be produced but the transducer can additionally show the image in real-time and capture movement in the body’s internal organs such as blood flow. Lastly, the physical features can be seen such as flexibility of tissues. These analytical features allow ultrasound machines to be efficient for monitoring and diagnosing while simultaneously being safe to operate.  

I chose to record an interspecific interaction between a fiddle-leaf ficus tree and the vine plant growing up its trunk. I chose these two species for four reasons. These plants are located within Durfee Conservatory, a greenhouse complex open to the public, which is convenient both in that it is insulated from winter weather and that it is near Morrill, where our class takes place, and thus easy for me and whoever would replicate my methods to access. In addition, their location is fixed and their interaction is perpetual, meaning they can be found and their relationship documented regardless of the time lapsed between my observations of them and my partner’s observations of them. Furthermore, their precise location within the greenhouse is near easily identifiable landmarks such as the west doorway, the bench by the west doorway, and the koi pond, which meant that I could describe where they are in the conservatory in such a way that my partner could easily find them amongst the many different, densely growing plants. Finally, I chose these two species out of all the species in Durfee simply because I thought they looked interesting in a purely aesthetic sense, and therefore something I would enjoy taking pictures of. However, this was a minor motivation, and my primary consideration was ease of replicability.