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Sean Nash

Health Effects from Swimming Training in Chlorinated Pools and the Corresponding Metabo... - 4 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC4351252

swimming chlorine mice-experimenting HSR2023 blood liver pools

shared by Sean Nash on 13 Jul 23 - No Cached
  • Numerous epidemiological publications have associated the chlorination of pools with dysfunctions of the respiratory system and with some other diseases
  • Therefore, the health effects from swimming in chlorinated pools and the corresponding stress reactions in organisms are unclear. In this study, we show that although the growth and behaviors of experimental rats were not affected, their health, training effects and metabolic profiles were significantly affected by a 12-week swimming training program in chlorinated water identical to that of public pools.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      This may prove to be a concerning fact that myself and others on the swim team swim rather consistently.
  • The epidemiological evidence for adverse health effects from swimming in chlorinated water primarily originate from studies concerning respiratory function and asthma, althoughVillanueva et al. reported a significant increased risk of bladder cancer for swimmers compared with nonswimmers [5].
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      Kinda scary to think about the fact that swimming could be hurting my lungs.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 13 Jul 23
       
      OK... this is all a very rare and interesting topic to me. I've never considered it. Of course, in thinking a bout this as a HS research topic, the fact that it centers around humans... is a feasibility issue. However, what sort of invertebrate models could we use in place? Would we be able to detect DBPs?
  • ...24 more annotations...
  • Interestingly, the eyes and skin are the organs that are more directly affected than the lungs by the irritants in chlorinated water; instead of chlorination, training intensity, training frequency and choking on water may be the primary factors for lung damage induced by swimming.
  • he water for the EG was purified using a water purifier and then disinfected using calcium hypochlorite, similar to public swimming pools, whereas the water for the CG was only purified, not chlorinate
  • Therefore, the health effects from swimming in chlorinated pools and the corresponding stress reactions occurring in our bodies are unclear
  • In fact, similar symptoms, red and swollen eyes, dried skin and nasal mucosal congestion, always appear after humans swim in a chlorinated pool; however, the long-term (12 weeks) and high-frequency (5 days a week) of the experimental swimming training caused even worse symptoms in these experimental rats.
  • however, some unusual appearance changes appeared in the EG rats.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      EG rats had the exposure of a public level of chlorine.
  • First, the skin around their eyes became increasingly red with the development of the experiment, and in the ending period of the experiment, bloodstains could be observed in the rims of most rats’ eyes.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      Wow.
  • Third, their fur became increasingly dry and lackluster, and significant signs of hair loss were observed during the last month.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      This doesn't sound good.
  • These results indicated that the fur, respiratory tracts and eyes of the EG rats were severely affected by chlorinated water, although their growth was essentially unaffected. According to our observations, the daily behaviors and sizes of the EG rats were normal, and their final body weights were even slightly heavier than those weights of the control group. Nevertheless, dried and lackluster fur, hair removal, bloody noses and eyes did occur in the EG rats and not to the CG rats.
  • A meta-analysis performed by Goodman et al. demonstrated that the association between asthma and swimming could only be confirmed among competitive swimmers and could not be confirmed among non-competitive swimmers
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      SO competitive swimmers are the ones with an association of asthma and pool water.
  • Additionally, an interesting phenomenon was observed by comparing the development of the bloody noses and bloody eyes. The bloody noses commonly appeared in the third and in the fourth week; however, approximately two weeks later, this symptom gradually disappeared. The significantly bloody eyes commonly appeared in the ending period of the experiment; however, this problem was becoming worse during the study, and no signs of improvement appeared. The bloody noses appeared first, suggesting that respiratory tracts may be more vulnerable to the irritants from the chlorinated water than eyes; the gradually disappearing symptom suggests that respiratory tracts may have some adaptability to chlorinated water possibly because of the protection from nasal mucous. In contrast, without the mucosal protection, the bloody eyes were becoming increasingly significant during the entire experiment, although this symptom appeared later than the bloody noses.
  • Hippurate is an inhibitor of glucose utilization in the muscle and in the kidneys, an inhibitor of glucose utilization in the kidneys and in the liver, a modulator of fatty acid metabolism, and a stimulator of ammoniagenesis
  • Three rats from the EG were found liver damage, indicating that the positive rate reached 18 percen
  • or instance, Tumasonis et al. reported that a significantly increased incidence of hepatic neoplastic nodules in female rats and a significantly increased incidence of hepatic adenofibrosis in both male and female rats were induced by the chronic ingestion of chloroform [15].
  • Representative hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E, 400×) of liver sections.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      The liver literally changed between the two groups.
  • . We suppose that the primary differences between the competitive swimmers and non-competitive swimmers are training intensity and frequency, not the pool water.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      An interesting theory, but I wonder if it has been proved.
  • The first three principal components (PCs) explain 57.3% of the total variance of the raw data and are sufficient to present the differences between the EG and the CG
  • In Fig. 3, we can see that the majority of the differences between the EG and the CG are explained by PC 1 and PC 3.
  • which suggests that the 12-week swimming training in chlorinated water induced a significant change in the metabolic profiles of the experimental group rats.
  • As an antioxidant, taurine can directly scavenge hypochlorous acid (HClO) and prevents changes in membrane permeability due to oxidative impairment
  • The duration period from the entry into water until the rats reached exhaustion was significantly shorter for the EG rats compared with the CG rats (29.74±11.50 vs. 39.15±9.85 minutes, p<0.05)
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      Rats in chlorine swam ten minutes less on average.
  • Chlorine is a necessary element for our bodies, and nontoxic.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
       
      I did not know that.
  • In summary, the 12-week swimming training in chlorinated pool water did induce some disease symptoms, an impairment of training effects and a significant change in the metabolic profiles, although the growth and behaviors of the experimental animals were not affected
  • Thus, the eyes and skin might be the organs that require greater attention for permanent damage.
  • Symptoms found in the liver and lung sections indicate that the liver is most likely the most possible target organ of DBPs, and training intensity, training frequency and water choking may be the primary factors for lung damage induced by swimming, instead of chlorination. The result of the swimming capacity test showed that training effects were significant affected by chlorinated water through perturbing the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
  • katherine-medina on 13 Jul 23
     
    A really cool article about how chlorine can affect the bodies of mice. (An article I will never be able to forget about due to it being similar to my situation.)
  • Sean Nash on 13 Jul 23
     
    A really cool article about how chlorine can affect the bodies of mice. (An article I will never be able to forget about due to it being similar to my situation.)
katherine-medina

The Efficacy of Dandelion Root Extract in Inducing Apoptosis in Drug-Resistant Human Me... - 0 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC3018636

Dandelions Cancer-fighting botany HSR-2023 potential research idea Melanoma

shared by katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • 2. Materials and Methods
  • 2. Materials and Methods
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      If I plan on doing some sort of experiment with Dandelion root, I will likely need to come back and look at how this study did it.
  • After a long exposure of 96 hours, NHFs did not exhibit any reduction in cell viability
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      Wow, so even after 3 days the Dandelion Root did nothing to the NHF aka. normal human cells.
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • With DRE having proven its efficacy in successfully killing this aggressive, chemoresistant form of skin cancer, DRE toxicity on normal cells had to be evaluated
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      Always remember to hav e a control.
  • DRE was found to reduce cell viability in a dose-dependent fashion, over time, in A375 melanoma cells as was measured by WST-1 assay. Based on metabolic activity of A375s, it was confirmed that treatment at 2.5 mg/mL DRE resulted in ~50% reduction in cell viability against control within 24 hours (Figure 1(a))
  • Higher doses were then used and a response was observed at a concentration of 10 mg/mL (
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      For different types of melanoma a different amount of DRE is needed.
  • Typical apoptotic morphology was observed in G361 cells treated with DRE starting at 5 mg/mL concentrations for 72 hours
  • . However, there has been little scientific advancement made in this field with regard to the effect of dandelion root extract on cancer, and even more so on chemoresistant, human malignant melanoma skin cancer.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      I do so love it when the author identifies the fact that there is so few research papers about DRE.
  • ) is more than a worthy chemopreventative, it is fast-acting, nontoxic, and therefore specific in its targeting of human melanoma cancer cells, making it a valuable chemotherapeutic. We have investigated the induction of apoptosis in human malignant melanoma cells and observed its long-term effects in human melanoma cancer.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      alrighty then.
  • We are yet to determine the effect of each of the individual components (such as the family of triterpene alcohols and phenolic acids—found in the roots—and cinnamic acids, flavinoids and coumarins—that are found in the leaves
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      Maybe I could look into the specific component that kills the cancer, so that in future years after I had figured this out I could put it into practice.
  • Given that DRE has traditionally been used naturopathically for a variety of ailments, we assume that it would be relatively nontoxic to healthy cells. Our results show that the Normal Human Fibroblasts (NHFs) (which were treated at a low population doubling where NHFs have the best proliferation rate) and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells remained unaffected and healthy after a 96-hour and 48- hour exposure to DRE, respectively (Figures 2(a)–2(d)).
  • Lupeol,
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      What is Lupeol. (I should probably look into that.)
  • taraxasterol
  • More importantly, an increase in ROS production indicates prooxidant behaviour of DRE on cancer cell mitochondria, which is contrary to the antioxidant convictions of traditional medicine and previous studies on Taraxacum extracts citing reductions in NO, ROS, RNS, and COX-2 [10, 11] in mouse macrophages.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      That is very important and interesting.
  • There are two main points that must be stated here: firstly, that noncancerous cells are unaffected by DRE treatment, and secondly, melanoma cells retain the signals to commit suicide long after DRE has been removed from the system
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
       
      Good to restate.
  • Metformin acts as a metabolism interfering compound that debilitates cancer cells, and the case of G361-resistant melanoma cells, combining DRE with metformin reduces cell viability at even lower doses (Figures 9(a) and 9(b)).
  • By 48 hours, human melanoma A375 cells uncharacteristically showed susceptibility to apoptosis induction by DRE
  • We believe that this nontoxic extract can undergo precipitous translation from bench top to bedside, with dandelion products that are already commercially available in the form of tea and supplements.
  • katherine-medina on 07 Jun 23
     
    Essentially it is an article that figured out that DRE can induce apoptosis in melanoma cells, and it also proved that DRE is non-toxic to normal human cells.
katherine-medina

Dandelion root extract affects colorectal cancer proliferation and survival through the... - 0 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC5341965

Dandelions Cancer-fighting HSR-2023 potential research idea botany colon-cancer

shared by katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • of an aqueous dandelion root extract
  • caspase-8 activation was not essential for the induction of cell death in colon cancer cells as an inhibition of caspase-8 activation did not alter the cytotoxicity of DRE
  • We have been able to identify four pharmacologically active components, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, lupeol and taraxasterol, in two out of the six bioactive fractions, but the anti-cancer activities of the individual compounds were not as strong as that of the unfractionated DRE indicating, clearly, the benefits of using the whole extract.
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • which might represent a novel non-toxic alternative to conventional cancer therapy available today.
  • These results clearly indicate that dandelion root extract can inhibit the ability of colorectal cancer cells to migrate and invade, and therefore metastasize to secondary locations.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      Wow. I like to see that in 3 different studies DRE was proven to selectively pick the cancer cells, and ignore the normal cells.
  • morphological differences in tissue slices between the control untreated and the DRE treated group
  • aken together, these results established that systemic oral intake of the DRE was safe and its anti-cancer efficacy should be further investigated.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      I love the fact that they yet again state that I should look more into this topic.
  • , but the DRE treatment efficiently suppressed the growth of both p53 WT and p53 mutant tumors in-vivo (Figure 4B – 4C)
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      great, they suppressed the growth of the tumors.
  • with no difference between the control and DRE treated samples of NCM460
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      I would not have thought that the mitochondria would be left alone by the drug.
  • Others suggest that following activation, caspases re-localize to the mitochondria, where they interact with other pro-apoptotic proteins during the progression of apoptosis [15]. A third option, put forward by Qin and colleagues, suggests that inactive caspases are kept in the mitochondria, but following apoptotic stimuli and activation, they are released from the mitochondria into the cytoplasmic peri-nuclear space [
  • The results showed a progressive destabilization of the mitochondrial membrane following the DRE treatment, which was observed as early as 30 minutes post treatment (Figure ​6C). Pro-caspase-8 (green) was localized in the mitochondria (red) in control untreated cells; however, following the DRE treatment, activated caspase-8 was released from the mitochondria into cytoplasmic space, as indicated by the dispersed green fluorescence (Figure ​6C
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      Pro-capase-8 helps to fight against the cancer
  • suggesting that in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells the DRE-induced cell death was caspase-8 independent.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      So essentially caspase 8 had nothing to do with it
  • We observed a decrease in the viability of cells treated with α-amyrin, with 10 μM as the most effective concentration.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      Hmm. the beginnings of narrowing down what it is about the plant that is able to fight cancer.
  • However, these results indicate that DRE and its anti-cancer components must be absorbed and circulated, in order to reach the site of the tumor (in order to inhibit tumor growth).
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      So it needs to be drank, or swallowed in a pill form to work.
  • , we confirmed the vulnerability of cancer cell mitochondria by showing that the DRE treatment led to a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential and increase in ROS levels in the isolated mitochondria.
  • caspase-8 specific inhibitor, IETD-fmk, did not change the DRE response in these cells. This was in contrast to our previous study in leukemia and pancreatic cancer cells
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
       
      For each different cancer a new slightly different result is produced
  • he pro-apoptotic genes including Caspase-1, Interferon gamma and the TNF ligands and receptors, were up-regulated in HT-29 cells, prior to the apoptosis induction, while the same genes were down-regulated in NCM460 cells.
  • Previous findings show that taraxasterol has anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive activit
  • suggesting its importance in the anti-cancer activity of dandelion root extract, especially on the expression levels of COX-2. Additionally, we show that 10 μM lupeol is not very effective on its own
  • katherine-medina on 09 Jun 23
     
    Yet another article about how DRE can fight against cancer.
katherine-medina

Anti-inflammatory effects and possible mechanism of action of lupeol acetate isolated f... - 0 views

journal-inflammation.biomedcentral.com/...1476-9255-7-60

lupeol anti-inflammatory HSR-2023 botany rat-experiments

shared by katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • The latex collected from its stem bark is used for several purposes including anti-inflammatory properties and presents among its bioactive constituents the pentacyclic triterpene lupeol.
  • administered with LA,
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      they were trying to see if it could work as a prevenatitive treatment
  • carrageenan and dextran,
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      This causes inflammation
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • the effect of a very low dose of LA (0.1 mg/kg) was potentiated by the same dose of pentoxifylline (PTX), a known TNF-alpha inhibitor. L
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      Essentially once they put pentoxifylline into the rat the LA activated.
  • The anti-inflammatory effect of LA probably involves the opioid system, as indicated by the complete blockade of the opioid antagonist naloxone
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      So, the LA helped the body with inflammation due to its interaction with the opioid system.
  • rich in triterpenes
  • Carrageenan-induced mice paw edema
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      Cool to understand that these next two paragraphs are about how to induce inflammation
  • LA injected 30 min before carrageenan significantly decreased the carrageenan-induced neutrophil migration in a dose-dependent manner. The LA inhibitory effect against carrageenan-induced migration was about 52, 79 and 90%, at the doses of 1, 10 and 20 mg/kg, i.p., respectively
  • LA (10, 25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced both phases of the formalin test, and the results were significant at the two higher doses. However, the effects were mainly on the 2nd phase with 61% inhibition, whereas the 1st phase was inhibited by 41% at the LA dose of 50 mg/kg, i.p. The naloxone pretreatment completely reversed the LA effect, in the 1st and 2nd phases, indicating the participation of the opioid system in LA antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory actions.
  • On the other hand, while no significant enzyme release was observed with LA at the concentrations of 1, 10 and 25 μg/mL, a small but significant LDH release (around 2 times) was detected with the higher LA concentration (50 μg/mL), probably related to the presence of 0.2% Tween 80.
  • The results show that LA at the concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL presents no radical scavenging capacity. On the contrary, vitamin E used as the reference drug significantly decreased the absorbance value, as related to controls
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
       
      LA can sadly not kill the free radicals that tend to disrupt and kill DNA and other parts of the cell.
  • In the carrageenan-treated groups pretreated with LA (50 mg/kg, i.p.) or indomethacin (10 mg/kg, i.p.), there were significant reductions of iNOS expressing cells.
  • Lupeol is found in several other species and its antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities have been already demonstrated [24–28]. It is accepted that the anti-inflammatory property of lupeol often accompany its immune modulatory and anti-tumor action
  • lupeol acetate presents an anti-inflammatory activity by regulating TNF-alpha and IL-2 specific mRNA, besides upregulating the synthesis of IL-10 mRNA [31].
  • In the present work, we showed that lupeol acetate (LA, 93.2% purity) isolated from the H. drasticus latex presented a potent anti-inflammatory action, in several models of inflammation in mice
  • These authors concluded that lupeol possessed an anti-inflammatory activity which is probably related to its ability to prevent the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-α and IL-1β.
  • katherine-medina on 12 Jun 23
     
    This study is a good one to go back to if you are curious about alternative types of anti-inflammatory plants.
  • Sean Nash on 15 Jun 23
     
    The carrageenan here (and the fact that you seem interested in the biochemical realm) made me think of a supplement my mom recently asked me to scope out for her (Arteriosil). It also contains a seaweed extract (rhamnan sulfate) Her doctor was recommending it for macular degeneration. Here is the product: https://shop.calroy.com/product/arterosilhp/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7aqkBhDPARIsAKGa0oKoQchIRSlzL1_PikNwT71f1BmUVgbIM7sXUQS_lJKaGVSCT4O5R7EaAmaUEALw_wcB Here is one study from the NIH: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32344720/
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

Placebo-Controlled Clomipramine Trial for the Treatment of Feather Picking Disorder in ... - 0 views

jcore-reference.highwire.org/...261

birds plumage feathers clomipramime HSR2023 feather-plucking-treatment

shared by katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23 - No Cached
  • Three of the 11 birds improved, and side effects were rare
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
       
      Why only three birds?
  • 7 A Congo African grey parrot (Psittacus erythacus) was also treated for feather picking and self-mutilation with clomipramine (4 mg/kg PO q 12 hours), which resulted in an increase in appetite and paradoxical anxiety.28 The dose was ultimately increased (9.5 mg/kg PO q 12 hours), and buspirone (0.5 mg/kg PO q 24 hours) was eventually added. Feather regrowth occurred, and feather picking was adequately controlled 3 months after the final dosage adjustment.
  • Eight of 11 birds treated with clomipramine were considered improved by 6 weeks
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
       
      Cool
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • There was no significant correlation between duration of feather picking and reduction in time spent preening from baseline to 6 weeks for the clomipraminetreated birds (r=0.314; P=0.174
  • Clomipramine-treated birds had significantly greater improvement at 6 weeks than at 3 weeks (z= −1.897; P=0.029). Of the eight clomipramine-treated birds that were improved at 6 weeks, seven of them began to improve at 3 weeks.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
       
      I do find the results of this experiment interesting as far as the variability of the experiment. It does make me think that clomipramine does not work as well as one might think.
  • One bird that received clomipramine (case no. 11) was worse at 6 weeks, according to both the caregiver and the clinician
  • Approximately 64% of birds treated with clomipramine improved, but only 36% were judged to have substantial improvement.
  • However, the shortest duration of feather picking for birds in this study was 2 months (case no. 10), and this bird’s signs were the only ones to completely resolve during the trial.
  • Self-injurious behaviors in humans, including such varied conditions as trichotillomania, skin picking,
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
       
      Maybe one of the reasons for the bird's self mutilation is due to some outside factor.
  • However, results of this trial suggest that clomipramine, at doses higher than those typically used in mammals, may be useful in the treatment regime for feather picking disease in some species of psittacine birds.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
       
      I wonder if there is any course of treatment that is similar to clomipramine, but has a higher solution rate.
  • katherine-medina on 12 Jul 23
     
    An article showing that clomipramime can help birds with feather plucking problems. (the results were a little bit over 50% of birds responded to the treatment.)
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.
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...
  • 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.
  • Baicalin [8], diterpenes [9], tellimagrandin I [10], corilagin [11], tripeptide [12], epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) [13] and epicatechin gallat
  • 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].
  • 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,
  • 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.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • . 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.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Sh
  • katherine-medina on 24 Jun 23
     
    An article discussing the affects of combining polyphenols with antibiotics in order to fight against MRSA.
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

Full article: Effect of Dandelion root extract on growth performance, immune function a... - 0 views

www.tandfonline.com/...09540105.2018.1548578

pig-experiments Dandelion Chineses-herbs HSR-2023 supplemental-research

shared by katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • From days 12 to 14 and days 26 to 28, approximately 100 g of faeces was collected from each pen for 3 days and the faecal samples were stored at −20°C. The 3-d faecal collection was pooled by pen and then dried at 65°C for 72 h.
  • From days 12 to 14 and days 26 to 28, approximately 100 g of faeces was collected from each pen for 3 days and the faecal samples were stored at −20°C. The 3-d faecal collection was pooled by pen and then dried at 65°C for 72 h.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
       
      Kinda gross, but interesting to know how and when the collected the "feces."
  • There were no differences in the ATTD of GE, CP, NDF and ADF among the three treatments.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
       
      Interesting that there was no difference between the three groups in that category.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • uring days 15–28, pigs in the CHE group had lower (P < .05) diarrhoea frequency compared with those in the NC treatment, and dietary CHE supplementation decreased the diarrhoea frequency by 63.62% and 57.82% compared with the NC and PC groups, respectively
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
       
      So the Chinese herbal extract did a better job at reducing the diarrhoea frequency by 63.62 and 57.82% in comparison to the NC and PC groups.
  • Furthermore, pigs in the CHE group had greater (P < .05) formic acid, propionate and butyrate concentrations in faeces compared with pigs in the PC group, and had greater (P < .05) formic acid, butyrate and valerate concentrations in faeces compared with pigs in the NC group
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
       
      Cool to note that the CHE group had a lower lactic acid concentration in comparison to the PC group.
  • There were no differences in the concentrations of IgA, IgG, IgM, GSH-PX, MDA, TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-1β among the three treatments.
  • Moreover, the concentration of IL-6 in serum in pigs fed the CHE diet was greater (P < .05) than those fed the NC diet.
  • Pigs in the CHE group showed increased relative abundance of Sytrophococcus on genus level, and decreased (P < .05) relative abundance of Clostridiaceae_1
  • In addition, relative abundances of genus Selenomonas, Alloprevotella, Prevotella_2, Rjkenellaceae, and Kitasatospora all increased in faecal samples when pigs fed the PC diet.
  • CHE supplementation decreased the diarrhoea frequency of pigs compared with diets with or without antibiotics supplemented. Some previous studies also reported the positive effects of dietary Chinese herbs supplementation on diarrhoea frequency of weaned pigs
  • he increased concentrations of immune markers in serum and faecal SCFAs in weaned pigs consumed CHE in our study may explain the positive effects of CHE supplementation on diarrhoea frequency and nutrient digestibility
  • but decreased the incidence of diarrhoea and increased digestibility of some nutrients.
  • In addition, CHE supplementation improved faecal SCFAs concentrations and immune function of weaned pigs, and shaped faecal microbial community in weaned pigs. As a result, the traditional Chinese herb medicine, CHE, could act as a potential alternative to the antibiotics such as aureomycin used in weaned pig diets.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
       
      I do quite enjoy this closing statement, so in summary CHE works to decrease diarrhoea in weened pigs.
  • katherine-medina on 13 Jun 23
     
    An article showing that pigs who ate CHE had a significant decrease in diahrroea.
  • Sean Nash on 15 Jun 23
     
    Super interesting. Just remember that experimentation on mammals where diet is altered, etc... is a super tightrope walk. It is almost impossible to get those approved. You would have to really dig into the ISEF rules on that. However, you can always think about ways to transfer ideas and concepts down to a "lower" animal model for many studies.
  • Sean Nash on 15 Jun 23
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
  • 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.
  • To access synergy between aztreonam and EGCG, checkerboard assays were performed
  • 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
  • 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

https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2962278/v1/95a4813e-7c91-423d-8608-d3e697f79... - 0 views

assets.researchsquare.com/...c91-423d-8608-d3e697f797f4.pdf

MRSA stilbene polyphenols antibiotics HSR-2023 Research-idea pigeon-peas

shared by katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23 - No Cached
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      A. Besides, the results implied that these stilbenes effectively inhibited the levels of adhesion and virulence genes and downregulate the production of -hemolysin. This study showed that stilbenes from pigeon pea have anti-Staphylococcus potential, and they also inhibited bacterial proliferation, biofilm formation, and key gene expressions related to adhesion and virulence of MRSA.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      "Over the past few years, bacterial biofilm has aroused wide attention. And the biofilm can be called sessile microbial community where cells are attached to the surface or to other cells and can embed themselves in a protective extracellular polymeric matrix." This is a pretty interesting piece of information.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      Moreover, as an ethnological herb, pigeon pea is adopted in traditional medicine for its treatments of diabetes (Al-Saeedi and Hossain 2015; Talukdar 2013), hepatic-disorder (Ghosh et al. 2006), necrosis of femoral head (Luo et al. 2009), measles (Nwodo Page 4/20 et al. 2011) and osteoporosis HUH that is really interesting considering the amount of pigeon peas I have had in arroz con gondules.
  • ...3 more annotations...
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      Additionally, the epidermis was the external barrier of the body and thus HaCaT (human keratinocyte) was used to investigate the cytotoxicity of these stilbenes. As a result, these compounds had no discernible harmful effects on HaCaT at concentrations of 1/4 of their MIC, and their IC50 on HaCaT were 9.58 ± 0.22, 12.76 ± 0.31, 18.38 ± 0.41 µg/mL, respectively. Hence, the maximum concentrations of these stilbenes were set at 1/4 MIC in the follow-up research It is quite remarkable that pigeon peas are that effective.
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      The growth cures suggested that 1 MIC and 1/2 MIC of these compounds had remarkable inhibitory effects on the MRSA growth. Wow
    • katherine-medina
      katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
       
      It is incredibly important that the article states this, "However, current researches barely reveal the anti-MRSA biofilm ability of stilbenes from pigeon pea." This makes me want to learn more and more about how pigeon pea polyphenols work mostly because it is a very unexplored area of biochemistry.
  • katherine-medina on 27 Jun 23
     
    This article is about three different stilbenes in pigeon peas that were found to fight against MRSA.
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
Xander Kleiber

Energy-efficient computing | MIT Energy Initiative - 2 views

energy.mit.edu/...energy-efficient-computing

potential research idea computer science engineering HSR HSR-2023

shared by Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • 1’s are literally thrown away, and that wasted energy is dissipated as heat.
    • Xander Kleiber
      Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23
       
      In logic gates specifically, because there are cases where a 1 goes in and a 0 can come out, that 1 (directly represented by electrical voltage) gets wasted in the computation and is released as heat.
  • the inputs are 1-0 and 0-1, and the output is 1-0. That setup is wasteful: An incoming 1 is lost during the computation. The researchers solve that problem by retaining the extra inputs as “garbage bits” that carry useless information (see the bottom example). The 1-0 order doesn’t matter, but now the number of 1’s is preserved after the computation.
    • Xander Kleiber
      Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23
       
      Seems like a great way to solve the issue. However, I don't see anywhere else in the article any sort of actual circuit design/implementation of said solution...
  • On the energy front, the goal is to conserve all information—not just the 1’s but the 0’s as well. Their approach is based on “reversible computing,” an idea first proposed in the 1970s.
    • Xander Kleiber
      Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23
       
      Expanded upon later.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • “If you can play everything backwards, then no energy has escaped during your computation,” says Demaine.
    • Xander Kleiber
      Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23
       
      So in reversible computing, if an algorithm can be reversed, that means no information (and therefore no 1's, or measures of voltage) are wasted, resulting in an even lower production of waste.
  • Xander Kleiber on 05 Jun 23
     
    Overall, this seems like a decent course of study. After all, mentioned throughout the article is something called "Landauer's limit," which is a limit to the efficiency of computing devices using the current, wasteful methods. Also mentioned briefly in the article is that we are continually getting much closer to this limit. This makes it a timely issue, along with the fact that not many people have elaborated on its implications or tried implementing it.
  • Sean Nash on 06 Jun 23
     
    This is really interesting... though I'm sure I would benefit from a back-and-forth conversation to make sure I'm understanding what I think I am.
Sean Nash

Microwaving an insecticide restores its mosquito-killing power - 2 views

www.sciencenews.org/...to-microwave-insecticide-spray

deltamethrin pesticide mosquito insecticide DDT crystals crystalline structure biochemistry environment evolution ecology chemistry heat potential research idea biology engineering environmental science HSR HSR-2023 HSR-2025

shared by Sean Nash on 25 May 23 - No Cached
  • Heating an insecticide can give it new life.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 25 May 23
       
      Wait, what? Do say more.....
  • Microwaving the insecticide deltamethrin rearranges its crystal structure but doesn’t change its chemical composition. The rearrangement renews deltamethrin’s ability to kill mosquitoes that have become resistant to the insecticide, researchers report April 21 in Malaria Journal.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 25 May 23
       
      Hmmmm... something similar to this smells like: feasibility.
  • The microwave worked just as well, but Kahr cautions that people shouldn’t use the same microwave for heating food and insecticides.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 25 May 23
       
      Ha! No kidding??
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • insecticide resistance is a growing problem
  • It is encouraging that heated insecticide killed highly resistant mosquitoes, says Hemingway, who directs the Infection Innovation Consortium, a public-private effort to find new ways to combat infectious diseases. But, she says, “this is not something we can take and use that tomorrow.”
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 25 May 23
       
      OK.... this is how you can find an opening (not saying THIS ONE is necessarily, but, when you see language like: "we can't really do it just yet," that is a screaming opportunity to see what we MIGHT be able to add to that.
  • It’s not certain that the heat-treated deltamethrin would retain its more potent crystal structure through the net-making process.
  • Kahr’s team is working on incorporating the heat-treated crystal into nets.
  • “There are all kinds of social and cultural things that you could propose from a scientific perspective that wouldn’t be welcomed by a community of homeowners.”
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 25 May 23
       
      Again... this reads: "potential research opportunity."
  • Kahr and colleagues previously discovered that heating deltamethrin changed its crystal structure, which let it work faster
Sean Nash

Red algae reduces methane emissions from cow poop - 1 views

www.sciencenews.org/...mate-warming-methane-red-algae

potential research idea biology engineering environmental science HSR HSR-2023 algae methane climatechange

shared by Sean Nash on 04 Aug 23 - No Cached
  • Adding the algae to decomposing feces might reduce methane emission from cow agriculture
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Aug 23
       
      Here's a bit of an engineering problem..... but one with a biological/ecological frame. The article presents promise, but many challenges. Could you imagine a way to sidestep any of the challenges presented here? What other ways could the methane production issue be strategically mitigated?
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.
Sean Nash

Taurine slows aging in mice. Will it ever work for people? - 1 views

www.sciencenews.org/...slows-aging-mice-energy-drinks

potential research idea research biology chemistry science HSR HSR-2023 aging mice SCI-I people

shared by Sean Nash on 15 Jun 23 - No Cached
ryleighnyp liked it
  • Sean Nash on 15 Jun 23
     
    Interesting bit on the potential benefits of taurine in the diet. Don't rush out and start an energy drink habit, but if you've had one, you likely know the unique taste of this chemical. There are a ton of things mentioned in this short article. Perhaps dig into what we already know about biochemical pathways of taurine...
prishabpatel

Melatonin and its relationship to plant hormones | Annals of Botany | Oxford Academic - 2 views

academic.oup.com/...4560814

HSR-2023 botany biology

shared by prishabpatel on 24 Aug 23 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • Sean Nash on 24 Aug 23
     
    This is super interesting to me... both the content itself AND the fact that this is not far from feasible for an advanced HS study. Phytohormones: FASCINATING, accessible, relatively easy to apply, and the immediate question is... is it measurable? We can certainly measure the effects of applied plant hormones simply by recording the growth and development data of the plants we apply them to. What this article gets at (from a VERY brief SKIM) is the need to measure increases of hormones levels INSIDE plant tissue. Now, this is something that requires sophistication beyond what we have a BLHS. However, it might be able to be detected by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography), or IR spectroscopy. If we know exactly what we're looking for in plant specimens/samples, and we ask super professionally, perhaps we could get the chem department at UMKC to help us use the right tool for the job to detect and measure these things.
katherine-medina

(1) Polyphenolic Secondary Metabolites Synergize the Activity of Commercial A... - 1 views

www.academia.edu/...roducing_Klebsiella_pneumoniae

polyphenol bacteria-killing enhancement HSR2023 methods

shared by katherine-medina on 04 Jul 23 - No Cached
  • katherine-medina on 04 Jul 23
     
    An article showing how different polyphenols can enhance antibiotics.
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