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Sean Nash

Study shows experimental evidence of an altruistic nature in small convict cichlid fish - 0 views

phys.org/...e-altruistic-nature-small.html

ethology behavior behavioralscience convictcichlid cichlid fish research SCI-I model organism study nature science potential research idea biology HSR HSR-2023

shared by Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • Study shows experimental evidence of an altruistic nature in small convict cichlid fish
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23
       
      This is a big favorite model organism for me and for a handful of former students. They are fascinating little fish with complex behaviors. However, the struggle is always: studies with vertebrate model organisms are always subject to far more scrutiny and paperwork. You have to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that your study is not invasive, and you have a proper plan for their care before/during/after experimentation. I am actually switching out the back aquarium (that previously had African Cichlids) for these in August.
katherine-medina

Frontiers | Dietary Polyphenols and Their Role in Oxidative Stress-Induced Human Diseas... - 1 views

www.frontiersin.org/...full

polyphenol cancer-fighting Research-idea HSR-2023 tea botany plantss

shared by katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • phenolic acids, flavonoids, catechins, tannins, lignans, stilbenes and anthocyanidins
  • They possess antioxidant, chemopreventive and a wide range of pharmacological properties (
  • Over 8,000 polyphenols have been reported from plants, out of several hundreds of polyphenols exist in human diets
  • ...25 more annotations...
  • Organic compounds bearing an aromatic ring with at least one hydroxyl group are termed as “phenolics”. In case, a compound possesses one or more aromatic rings having more than one hydroxyl group are called polyphenols (or polyphenolic compounds).
  • As per the C1-C6 or C3-C6 backbone, they are usually referred to as derivatives of benzoic acid or cinnamic acid
  • However, the role of the dietary polyphenols of their antioxidant abilities is still unclear.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      How exactly is the role of antioxidants unclear?
  • Increased intake of foods containing polyphenols (for example, quercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, resveratrol, cyanidin etc.) has been claimed to lower the incidence of a majority of chronic oxidative cellular damage, DNA damage, tissue inflammations, various cancers, viral/bacterial infections, and neurodegenerative diseases
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      So an increase of foods with natural extracts, so just plain vegetables that are not processed.
  • This review specifically focuses a current understanding on the dietary sources of polyphenols and their protective effects including mechanisms of action against various major human diseases.
  • γ rays
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      I had no idea these were a thing.
  • ROS when increased or excessively produced can cause oxidative changes/damages to all cellular macromolecules
  • Several antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) aid in the removal of free radicals
  • Peroxynitrite can also destroy lipoproteins and causes lipid peroxidation of cell membranes
  • ROS can also affect protein synthesis and protein functions. Protein oxidation can result in amino acid modifications
  • Flavonoids are further classified into different subgroups based on their structures such as flavan-3-ols (examples: catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin), isoflavones (examples: genistein, genistin, daidzenin, daidzin, biochanin A, formononetin), flavones (examples: luteolin, apigenin, chrysin), flavonones (examples: hesperetin, naringenin), flavonols (examples: quercetin, kaempferol, galangin, fisetin, myricetin), flavononol (example: taxifolin), flavylium salts (examples: cyanidin, cyanin, pelargonidin), and flavanones (examples: hesperetin, naringenin, eriodictyol, isosakuranetin)
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      WOW so flavonoids have a large variety and classes.
  • Polyphenols are found naturally in fruits and vegetables such as cereals, pulses, dried legumes, spinach, tomatoes, beans, nuts, peppermint, cinnamon, pears, cherries, oranges, apples, red wine, tea, cocoa, coffee and so on (Arts and Hollman, 2005; Scalbert et al., 2005). Polyphenols are classified into different groups depending on the number of aromatic (phenolic) rings they contain and the structural elements that connect these rings. They are broadly grouped into phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes and lignans
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      SO each polyphenol has a different number of phenolic rings. What is the difference between the different polyphenols such as phenolic acid, flavonoids, stilbenes and lignans. I think that I should look at which of these groups are more effective when working with antibiotics as a way to aid them in the fight against resistant bacterias.
  • urther, OS exerts deleterious effects on DNA leading to the formation of DNA lesions, which can result in genomic instability and consequently lead to cell death.
  • In plant derived polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids comprise the largest group with an approximately 10,000 natural analogues
  • Dietary supplements containing elevated amounts of flavonoids from strawberries, lettuce, or blueberries aid in the reversal of age-related discrepancies in the brain and behavioral control in aged rats
  • Tea catechins
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
       
      I ha e looked into these a bit, but I did not know that they can help with neurodegenerative diseases.
  • reduced glutathione (GSH), and on membrane sulphydryl (-SH) group in humans has been reported by Maurya and Rizvi (2009).
  • OS can be the primary or secondary reason for various CVDs. Preclinical evidence support that OS is linked to a variety of CVDs, including atherosclerosis, ischemia, stroke, cardiomyopathy, cardiac hypertrophy, and hypertension, as well as congestive heart failure
  • Dietary flavonoids may reduce endothelial disorders linked with various risk factors for atherosclerosis before plaque creation
  • The polyphenols of Hibiscus sabdariffa weaken diabetic nephropathy in terms of serum lipid profile and kidney oxidative markers
  • . Studies suggest that a diet that includes regular consumption of fruits and vegetables (rich in polyphenols such as catechins, resveratrol, ellagic acid, naringenin, quercetin etc.) significantly lowers the risk of developing many cancers.
  • Black tea polyphenols like EGCG, theaflavins and thearubigins have potent anticancer properties
  • Anti-carcinogenic effects of resveratrol are due to the antioxidant function, which inhibits hydroperoxidase, Akt (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, matrix metalloprotease-9, NF-kB, protein kinase C, cyclooxygenase, focal adhesion kinase and Bcl-2 (B cell lymphoma 2) biomarkers/enzymes (Athar et al., 2007)
  • Increased OS may lead to the vulnerability of the infection and also triggers the malfunctioning of cellular metabolism
  • Resveratrol shows its anti-rheumatoid arthritis properties with reduced RA patients’ swelling, tenderness, and disease activity by lowering the biochemical indicators of inflammation like MMP-3, IL-6, ESR, C-reactive protein, and undercarboxylated osteocalcin
  • katherine-medina on 26 Jun 23
     
    A good overview about polyphenols.
Sean Nash

"I Wonder...": Reconnecting with Our Natural Curiosity - YouTube - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

projectdevelopment curiosity wonder nature of science science SCI-I questioning HSRTC SFS potential research idea biology chemistry physics engineering computer science mathematics statistical analysis questions botany environmental HSR HSR-2023

shared by Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23 - No Cached
ryleighnyp liked it
  • Reconnecting with Our Natural Curiosity
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23
       
      This is Caitlyn with the Society for Science (the group that sponsors the ISEF & RTS. I saw her give this talk in person last October. she gives some really good suggestions for reconnecting to the curiosity and wonder of your childhood. It is THIS skill that separates the typical student from the creative mind of a scientist. Will YOU try out any of her suggestions??
katherine-medina

Sci-Hub | A droplet-based electricity generator with high instantaneous power density. ... - 0 views

sci-hub.se/...s41586-020-1985-6

water-power droplets electricity HSR-2023

shared by katherine-medina on 22 Aug 23 - No Cached
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 22 Aug 23
       
      We find that when a falling water droplet spreads on the PTFE surface, it bridges the originally disconnected components (the PTFE/ITO and aluminum electrode) into a closed-loop, electrical system Interesting.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 22 Aug 23
       
      Fig. 1 | Design of the DEG. a, Schematic diagram. b, Optical image showing four parallel DEG devices fabricated on a glass substrate. The volume of each droplet is 100.0 μl. c, As individual droplets continue to impinge on the asfabricated device, the amount of charge on the PTFE surface increases gradually and eventually reaches a stable value. d, One hundred commercial LEDs can be powered when one droplet, released from a height of 15.0 cm, is in contact with the device. e, Under the same experimental conditions (for example, the same droplet size and height of release), the output voltage measured from the DEG (in red, with the frequency of impinging droplets being
  • katherine-medina on 22 Aug 23
     
    Interesting to see a different method on creating power out of water. I kinda of want to look into the science of water.
Sean Nash

Learning in Plants: Lessons from Mimosa pudica - 4 views

www.frontiersin.org/...full

Mimosa learning plants botany research SCI-I science student lab potential research idea biology HSR HSR-2023

shared by Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • there is a lack of observational data on the behavior of plants
  • Observational research allows the researcher to establish baseline activity and response levels of the subject
  • Perhaps the first study of learning in plants was a habituation experiment reported by Pfeffer (1873) using the sensitive plant Mimosa. In this experiment, repeated mechanical stimulation of leaflets led to a decrease in sensitivity
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • the question naturally arises as to whether Mimosa can discriminate between stimuli. This was answered in the affirmative by Holmes and Gruenberg (1965) whose experimental design included a drop of water and finger touch as stimuli
  • the results suggest that Mimosa can discriminate between stimuli
  • Thomas performed an experiment on classical conditioning in Mimosa that took advantage of the finding that, under field conditions, the leaflets of Mimosa slowly drop as dusk approaches and slowly rise at dawn (personal communication). In the experiment, the CS was turning on the light in the growth chamber and the US was touching selected leaflets. Thomas found that leaflets in the paired condition showed conditioning compared to a light only or alternating stimulation condition. This finding should be replicated with controls for pseudoconditioning.
  • Given the importance of the Gagliano et al. (2014) experiment and the failure to replicate some previous experimental results it is critical that the Gagliano et al. (2014) results be repeated by an independent laboratory.
  • In addition to Mimosa, habituation has been found in the carnivorous plant Drosera (sundew
  • Applewhite (1975) cites an experiment by Darwin reportedly showing habituation in the passion flower (Passiflora gracilis). During this experiment, when Darwin mechanically stimulated the passion flower tendrils, the tendrils no longer responded after 54 h of training.
  • Abramson et al. (2002) investigated the use of bioelectrical potentials as a method to explore plant behavior.
  • In an interesting article, Karpinski and Szechynska-Hebda (2010) discuss the intellect of plants from memory to intelligence. By studying recall, the researcher investigates a host of independent variables and that are solidly anchored to a set of dependent variables. This study focused on recall at the cellular level rather than as an externally observable behavior. The discussion of plant learning at various levels, from cellular to organismal and from different scientific fields is exactly what is advocated for in this article
  • There is also interest from behavioral scientists seeking to determine whether the similarities and differences in learning found among invertebrates and vertebrates could also be found in plants (Warden et al., 1940; Applewhite, 1975; Abramson et al., 2002; Guiguet, 2013).
  • The majority of early plant studies used the Sensitive plant (M. pudica). Mimosa has much to recommend it for learning studies. They are easy to maintain, much is known about its natural history, and they have a visible leaf closure response to external stimuli. However, there are drawbacks in the use of Mimosa, for example, it takes about 15 min for a leaf to recover (Holmes and Gruenberg, 1965) and not much is known about its genome in contrast to model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana whose entire genome is known.
  • In the following section we will focus on methods to develop studies utilizing habituation, sensitization, and classical conditioning techniques. Instrumental and operant conditioning will not be covered because at this time there are no Mimosa studies in these areas; although one can envision a situation where the opening and closing of a leaf can be detected electronically. Once detected, the response would produce a consequence such as an airpuff or changes in light intensity.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23
       
      The remainder of this comprehensive article is to outline the main lines of research in this area:
  • Learning in Plants: Lessons from Mimosa pudica
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 23 Jun 23
       
      This well-compiled article does a really nice job of outlining the history of study regarding plant behavior. It also suggests model organisms for study. Mimosa is a favorite of mine as their response is VERY rapid and quite visible for a plant! There are all sorts of feasible project ideas that could arise from this area of research.
katherine-medina

IJMS | Free Full-Text | The Combination of Catechin and Epicatechin Gallate f... - 1 views

www.mdpi.com/1802

polyphenol catechin Research-idea HSR-2023 MRSA antibiotics

shared by katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • efflux
  • efflux pumps
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      Wow, so MRSA can literally pump out antibiotics.
  • The advantage of the agents is that there is little or no direct selective pressure, and thus resistant strains are less likely to emerge
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • The extracts and compounds from hawthorn have been reported to show a variety of pharmacological activities, such as a protective effect on patients with heart failure [17], as well as an increased force of myocardial contraction [18], improved coronary circulation [19], antioxidant effects [20] and antimicrobial activities [21].
  • Baicalin [8], diterpenes [9], tellimagrandin I [10], corilagin [11], tripeptide [12], epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) [13] and epicatechin gallat
  • Figure 1
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      I could do something similar to this in a Petree dish like the photo above.
  • For example, galloy catechins, such as ECg and Cg, reduced the high MIC level of β-lactams to the antibiotic breakpoint or even lower than the breakpoint [14,15,26,27], but non-galloylated catechins, such as C and EC, had no such effect
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      use galloy catechins
  • WHO-2 but ECg (32 mg/L) increased the drug accumulation
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      So, at this specific concentration ECg helped with increasing the amount of antibiotic, but not necessarily assisting the ability of the antibiotic to do damage.
  • C or ECg (32 mg/L) in combination with oxacillin produced FICIs of more than 0.5 or 0.5, demonstrating no or very weak ILSMR effect.
  • via inhibiting mRNA expression of efflux pump genes,
  • In traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn is used as a peptic agent for stimulating digestion and promoting the function of the stomach, improving blood circulation and removing blood stasis
  • Some natural products can enhance the efficacy of β-lactam antibiotics, and therefore they are termed intensifiers of β-lactam susceptibility in MRSA
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      I would like to look into using antibiotics that are currently available to the public, and trying to enhance their ability to fight bacteria through the use of certain polyphenols or some other type of natural product.
  • We also found that when C combined with ECg, the ILSMR effect was markedly increased and the ILSMR effect of the combination (C and ECg) was enhanced with the increase in the concentration of C, with a higher concentration of C resulting in a lower FICI.
  • Overall, the different abilities of C and EGC to potentiate the ILSMR effect of ECg was presumed to be due to the difference in steric hindrance provided by the hydroxy groups in the B ring of these compounds.
  • Our results showed that C in combination with ECg could significantly reduce the MIC of these six antibiotics against almost all of the clinical MRSA strains
  • These results are significant since they demonstrate the possibility that these antibiotics can be used in the clinic when combined with C and ECg.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      I wonder if they have started implementing this in hospitals.
  • Herein, our results showed that reserpine down-regulated mRNA expressions of norA and norC, but not abcA, and C, in combination with ECg, down-regulated mRNA expressions of norA, norC and abcA among eight efflux pumps, while ECg or C alone could not.
  • he above results suggested the ILSMR effect of C and ECg was probably related to the inhibition of three pumps’ mRNA expressions. Which pump(s) played a more important role should be further investigated in the future experiments.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      Interesting
  • . Therefore, a criterion suitable for more than two compounds should be investigated in the future.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
       
      I think that this will be a useful article to go back to when looking towards developing further ideas for experiments.
  • Sh
  • katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
     
    An article discussing the affects of combining polyphenols with antibiotics in order to fight against MRSA.
ryleighnyp

BMED010 - Natural and Commercial Moisturizers on Skin Model | Regeneron ISEF 2023 - 2 views

projectboard.world/...ial-moisturizers-on-skin-model

ISEF fair project

shared by ryleighnyp on 23 May 23 - No Cached
  • ryleighnyp on 23 May 23
     
    This is a good example of data collection, experimental design, and presentation.
katherine-medina

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Amygdalin as a Cance... - 0 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC9697812

potential research idea HSR-2023 rat-experiments Amygdalin cancer-fighting Natural-remides

shared by katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • ]. Approximately 80% of all medications approved by the FDA in the last three decades have been derived from natural sources
  • Transdermal drug delivery is a promising route for cancer treatment compared with the oral route due to its low side effects and improved efficacy and selectivity
  • All ALN formulations containing DDP exhibited a higher percent of EE and smaller particle size and PDI than those that did not have DDP at the molar ratio investigated.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      If I am to do my research project over the affects of amygdalin patches on cancer, I will need to keep this section of text in mind.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • The optimum ALN gel formulation reduced mean relative carcinoma volume (MCV) at a higher rate (p < 0.05) compared with free amygdalin solution and free tamoxifene suspension.
  • that the optimum ALN gel formulation reduced mean relative carcinoma volume (MCV) compared with the DMBA control.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      reduced carcinoma in comparison to control group
  • . The value of the zeta potential indicated a negative surface charge, which is considered advantageous for transdermal drug delivery and for electrostatic stabilization due to the electrostatic repulsions between vesicles
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      Good to note.
  • 3. Materials and Methods3.1. MaterialsAmygdalin was attained from Nature’s Only Choice Company (Tbilisi, GA, USA). Sigma Aldrich (Agitech Company, Cairo, Egypt) provided Tween 60, Span 60, cholesterol, 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a] anthracene (DMBA), triethanolamine, and dihexadecyl phosphate. Carbopol 934, methanol, acetone, and chloroform were attained from Corner-Lab Company (Cairo, Egypt).
  • Histological examination of the oral tamoxifen suspension treated group (Figure 7C) revealed the presence of hyperkeratosis and acanthosis in the surface epithelium of the epidermis with signs of a diffuse inflammatory response and edema in the dermis and sub-cutaneous tissue.
  • Histological examination of the optimum ALN gel treated group (Figure 7F) showed clearly healed skin with normal covering epithelium and marked improvement in all signs of the epidermis and dermis that were better than those of the oral amygdalin solution. These results confirmed the effectiveness of amygdalin loaded niosomes gel as a cancer therapy in vivo.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      Cool, so they tested and confirmed that ALN gel does work to treat cancer of the skin.
  • Histological examination of the optimum ALN gel-treated group (Figure 8B) showed clearly healed skin with normal covering epithelium.
  • The group treated with plain niosomes gel showed MCV nearly similar to that of the DMBA control group.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      SO the niosome gel doesn't do much.
  • The optimum ALN gel enhanced the permeation of amygdalin into deep skin layers and showed significant anti-tumor activity compared with oral tamoxifen.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
       
      I think that Amygdalen could be one of my research topics for this upcoming year.
  • katherine-medina on 11 Jun 23
     
    A really cool study that showed that Amygdalin in a gel form can prove to be very sucsessful at healing tumors from the epidermis.
Sean Nash

Key to Tasty Tea May Be the Germs Found in Plants' Roots - Drugs.com MedNews - 0 views

www.drugs.com/...found-plants-roots-117663.html

environmental science HSR botany questions potential research idea biology

shared by Sean Nash on 22 Feb 24 - No Cached
  • Sean Nash on 22 Feb 24
     
    Naturally-occurring soil microbes are feasible for school experimentation...
katherine-medina

Peptidomimetic antibiotics disrupt the lipopolysaccharide transport bridge of drug-resi... - 0 views

www.science.org/...sciadv.adg3683

bacteria-killing HSR2023 peptide drug-resistant thanatin

shared by katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23 - No Cached
  • Recently, naturally occurring peptides were proposed to interfere with the function of proteins constituting the lipopolysaccharide
  • periplasmic
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      The space in between the inner and outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria
  • Thanatin, a 21–amino acid defense peptide isolated from the gut of the hemipteran insect Podisus maculiventris (18), exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      I wonder what other peptides do so as well?
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • We hypothesized that thanatin mainly acts as a competitive inhibitor of the protein-protein interactions mediating the Lpt bridge assembly
  • Thanatin, however, is not a suitable drug candidate for further development due to poor drug-like properties and rapid emergence of resistance
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      Why/How does thanatin have poor drug-like properties?
  • β-jellyroll
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      structure found in proteins
  • Here, we introduce thanatin-derived synthetic macrocyclic peptides found after a substantial medicinal chemistry effort.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      Essentially they synthetically created it
  • Development of resistance against thanatin was observed after 1 day of passaging in both E. coli and K. pneumoniae and is characterized by a spontaneous FOR of 1.2 × 10−6 for E. coli at 4× MIC
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      That is kinda scary to think about
  • genome sequencing of a diverse panel of thanatin-resistant strains confirmed on-target modifications on LptA as the main resistance determinant in E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
  • The attractive in vitro and in vivo profile of these new antibiotics, coupled with their novel mechanism of action, showing no cross-resistance to standard of care antibiotics, may provide clinicians with additional treatment options to fight AMR, either in combination with SoC or as stand-alone antibiotics.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
       
      It is interesting to look around that these other methods that can fight off bacteria.
  • katherine-medina on 05 Aug 23
     
    An article showing a new class of antibiotics known as a peptidomimetic antibiotic.
ryleighnyp

Electrical grounding technique may improve health outcomes of NICU babies -- ScienceDaily - 2 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...170803120627.htm

HSR HSR-2023 potential research idea

shared by ryleighnyp on 07 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • "What we can conclude is that a baby's autonomic nervous system is able to sense the electrical environment and it seems as though a baby is more relaxed when grounded,"
  • redesigning incubators to ground babies and cancel out the electrical field
  • ryleighnyp on 07 Jun 23
     
    I think a possible research idea could be redesigning NICU incubators to allow for less electromagnet interference with the babies with the use of grounding.
  • Sean Nash on 07 Jun 23
     
    Interesting, for sure. Two things... the actual measurements they made on children (skin tests, etc.) are a no-go for us. I'm not sure what our model system could be for checking the electrical outputs of whatever design changes were made. We would need to know a lot more about the current setup in NICUs. There is no doubt a lot of design in how things are currently set up. Essentially: why things are set up the way they are right now? You would have to know every variable currently considered, and then look for spots where simple changes can be made. Second thing: go back to the ISEF categories in Engineering and check out how those projects look at the national level. Just go get a feel. Engineering is a bit different from typical "hypothesis testing" seen in most natural sciences. Very cool, but different. Give it a look.
Isabella Tungjaroenkul

The new human pangenome could help unveil the biology of everyone - 0 views

www.sciencenews.org/...angenome-biology-dna-diversity

HSR HSR-2023 biology DNA RNA pangenome

shared by Isabella Tungjaroenkul on 13 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • Being able to assess where some people have extra DNA and others are missing DNA, called structural variants, adds a more nuanced view of human genetics, O’Connor says, revealing more of its complexity (SN: 4/10/09).
  • Conversely, another study found that the very short arms of certain chromosomes, including chromosomes 13, 14 and 21, are becoming more like each other as they swap DNA.
katherine-medina

Restoring the activity of the antibiotic aztreonam using the polyphenol epigallocatechi... - 0 views

www.microbiologyresearch.org/...jmm.0.001060

pathogen polyphenols green-tea HSR-2023 gram-negative-bacteria

shared by katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
       
      Epigallocatechin (EGCG) is a type of catechin or a natural phenol antioxidant. It is commonly found in tea leaves, plums, apple skin, and onions. Sidenote this bacteria is found in green tea
  • However, with resistance increasing against many classes of antibiotic, clinicians often use multiple combinations to treat critically ill patients
  • relatively low toxicity of EGCG to human keratinocytes and G. mellonella larvae.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • . EGCG was able to restore the activity of aztreonam against MDR P. aeruginosa . The data presented support further evaluation of the aztreonam–EGCG combination and highlight its potential for use in clinical medici
  • Polyphenols
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
       
      These are bioactive compounds that are found in fruits and leaves of plants. The main focus of this paper is a type of polyphenol.
  • with EGCG in checkerboard assays, susceptibility increased in P. aeruginosa (n=16, 100%), with the combination proving synergistic in all strains tested
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
       
      Wow. for how much it increased the susceptibility.
  • Another option to restore the activity of aztreonam against bacterial strains with multiple resistance mechanisms would be to use polyphenols
  • he results demonstrate that synergy between aztreonam and EGCG exists [fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs) 0.02-0.5], with the combination affording significantly (P=<0.05) enhanced bacterial killing, with a >3 log10 reduction in colony-forming units ml−1 at 24 h
  • To access synergy between aztreonam and EGCG, checkerboard assays were performed
  • Chemicals, media, bacterial isolates and animals
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
       
      Really important to look back at these methods because even though it may not be feasible for me to do an experiment like this one, it still has valuable information for me to look at.
  • Synergy was also found between EGCG and the third-generation cephalosporin, cefotaxime
  • with scores of 64 and 56 out of a maximum of 64 for strains PA2 and PA6, respectively.
  • the increased activity may also be due to the inhibition of the non-mevalonate pathway, resulting in increased susceptibility to aztreonam.
  • Overall, the G. mellonella assays demonstrated that the aztreonam–EGCG combination was superior to monotherapy with either agent against every isolate tested, with significantly lower larval mortality rates
  • In conclusion, the results from this study demonstrate that synergy exists between aztreonam and EGCG against MDR clinical strains of P. aeruginosa in vitro and in vivo. EGCG is also able to restore the antibacterial activity of aztreonam to concentrations below the EUCAST susceptibility breakpoint for P. aeruginosa , potentially expanding and extending its useful therapeutic lifespan. Further work should be undertaken to determine if this combination has the potential to treat clinical infections caused by MDR P. aeruginosa .
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
       
      My final thought for this article is as follows: 1. This brings up a very interesting topic for me to dig into (polyphenols & antibiotics)
  • katherine-medina on 21 Jun 23
     
    A gateway article for me to further my search into the scientific realm involving polyphenols that aid antibiotics.
katherine-medina

Nowcasting lightning occurrence from commonly available meteorological parameters using... - 0 views

www.nature.com/...s41612-019-0098-0

weather lightning AI-prediction HSR-2023 meteorology environmental

shared by katherine-medina on 03 Jun 23 - No Cached
  • They hypothesized that the mesoscale environment indirectly influences CG lightning polarity by directly controlling the storm structure, dynamics, and microphysics, which in turn control storm electrification and ground flash polarity.
  • he lightning forecast is made 30–45 min before rainfall occurs
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 03 Jun 23
       
      I guess that would make sense considering the fact that the electricity in the air before a storm is active.
  • katherine-medina on 03 Jun 23
     
    An article about how AI can now predict where lightning will occur
katherine-medina

Marine Drugs | Free Full-Text | Microalgae Photo-Protectants and Related Bio-Carriers L... - 0 views

www.mdpi.com/487

shared by katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • This review focuses on the use of these microalgae compounds obtained by UV stimulation and takes advantage of their natural UV-resistant characteristics to potentially apply them as an alternative for UV protection products.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      Can I put this on a plant in order to mitigate heat damage?
  • pproximately 90–99% of the solar UV radiation energy that reaches the Earth’s surface is UV-A
  • whereas only 1–10% is UV-B [4]. Both UV-A and UV-B are responsible for one of the biggest concerns related to UV radiation, which is skin cancer
  • ...28 more annotations...
  • The mechanisms leading to skin damage are not fully understood and may derive from the generation of ROS and subsequent lipid peroxidation
  • To prevent photodamage, organisms have evolved to provide biochemical and physical defenses to UV by synthesizing robust bioactive compounds
  • Some algae species synthesize substances with chemical structures that can absorb UV radiation as well as inhibit actions on melanin synthesis
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      Which algaes
  • Microalgae can produce organic metabolites, such as sporopollenin, scytonemin, and MAAs to mention a few, and these metabolites have the purpose to protect the microalgae from UV radiation while allowing visible radiation involved in photosynthesis to pass through
  • two marine microalgae Pavlova lutheri, currently known as Diacronema lutheri, and Odontella aurita
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      After I get through the other ones I will get to you my pretty
  • UV-Resistant Microalgae
  • Marine organisms, including eukaryotic microalgae and cyanobacteria, during evolution, have developed physiological and biochemical traits for defense and/or tolerance to UV rays
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      Come back to this part
  • This research also mentioned the Antarctic microalgae Chaetoceros dichaeta, Phaeocystis antarctica, and Polarella glacialis, these were subjected to acclimation to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and showed resistance to UV-B rays.
  • It was found that the tolerant species contained substantial amounts of acetolysis-resistant residue
  • So far, several species, e.g., Coelastrella rubescens, Coelastrella terestris, Enallax coelastroides, Scotiella chlorelloidea, Ankistrodesmus spiralis, Chlorella minutissima, Chlorella sorokiniana, and Pseudococcomyxa sp. have been reported as rich sources of MAAs
  • They are abundant in various aquatic and terrestrial environments and are known for being eco-sustainable compounds since they are the outcome of the evolution of algae. Unlike their synthetic counterparts used unconventional sunscreens, there are no possibilities for pollution caused by them [22]. Thus, algal metabolites shape the safety and sustainability profiles of commercial sunscreens [22].
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      How long can the algae last on the skin or leaf of a plant
  • The results obtained point out different resistance and defense mechanisms of the four microalgae in response to UV-B irradiance and suggest that the strain of Nostoc sp. tested is the most suitable for surviving under the high UV irradiation [33]
  • Certain microalgae produce organic metabolites, such as sporopollenin, scytonemin, and MAAs as well as other UV-absorbing substances to counteract the harmful effects of UV radiation and protect themselves while allowing visible radiation involved in photosynthesis to pass through
  • The best known photoprotective response in marine organisms is the production or accumulation of UV-absorbing compounds, including MAAs as the most common compounds with such properties, but there are also others, such as scytonemin, carotenoids, alganean, and various secondary metabolites
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      photoprootective means protecting the skin
  • f low molecular weight, commonly found in marine environments. These compounds have absorption maxima in the UV region between 310 and 360 nm, they can dissipate radiation as heat without producing ROS. Under fixed light, MAA biosynthesis seems the most effective photoprotective mechanism
  • For these reasons, they potentially can prevent UV-induced skin damage
  • It was reported that species of microalgae that were highly tolerant to UV radiation had substantial amounts of sporopollenin. This compound functions as an antimicrobial agent, confers rigidness to the cell wall, and may further protect from UV rays by increasing the optical density, whereas species containing little or no sporopollenin were highly UV radiation susceptible
  • However, the potential of microalgae as topical photoprotectants has not been fully exploited, since there are not a lot of studies regarding this application.
  • Other reports determine that scytonemin is suspected to be synthesized from metabolites of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
       
      No set decision on how it is created
  • Alginate is a
  • ydration
  • However, some microalgae have a great ability to overcome or counteract different stresses such as intense solar UV radiation, this has been happening over the years and with the evolution of microalgae, some examples of defense and/or tolerance mechanisms are: DNA repair, synthesis of antioxidants, and enzymatic/non-enzymatic compounds, such as MAAs and scytonemin to counteract the harmful effects of UV radiation
  • Scytonemin is a yellow-brown lipid soluble sheath pigment that absorbs maximally in the UV-A and UV-C regions, but with some absorbance in the UV-B region. It has an in vivo absorption maximum of 370 nm.
  • tigate UV damage induced.
  • photosensitizers, their antioxidant
  • V
  • ed.
  • t
  • katherine-medina on 14 Sep 23
     
    A recent article showing the potential use of microalgae as a sunscreen.
  • Sean Nash on 14 Sep 23
     
    Yes..... let's chat this one out!
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