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Sean Nash

Learning in Plants: Lessons from Mimosa pudica - 4 views

  • 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
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  • 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
       
      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
       
      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.
Sean Nash

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

  • 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
       
      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
       
      Kinda scary to think about the fact that swimming could be hurting my lungs.
    • Sean Nash
       
      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?
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  • 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
       
      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
       
      Wow.
  • Third, their fur became increasingly dry and lackluster, and significant signs of hair loss were observed during the last month.
    • katherine-medina
       
      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
       
      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
       
      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
       
      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
       
      Rats in chlorine swam ten minutes less on average.
  • Chlorine is a necessary element for our bodies, and nontoxic.
    • katherine-medina
       
      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.
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    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.)
  •  
    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

Race car drivers tend to blink at the same places in each lap - 4 views

  • The world goes dark for about one-fifth of a second every time you blink, a fraction of an instant that’s hardly noticeable to most people. But for a Formula One race car driver traveling up to 354 kilometers per hour, that one-fifth means almost 20 meters of lost vision
  • People are often thought to blink at random intervals, but researchers found that wasn’t the case for three Formula drivers.
  • the drivers tended to blink at the same parts of the course during each lap, cognitive neuroscientist Ryota Nishizono and colleagues report in the May 19 iScience
    • Sean Nash
       
      Interesting. So, do we do the same thing while driving around town? Could you design a method to record eye blinks as people drive known routes around town? We could simultaneously use the Arduino Science Journal app on the iPhone to also correlate physical data in a moving car like acceleration/deceleration, motion in X, Y, Z directions, etc. I wonder if we could find a correlation in everyday driving that could help from a safety perspective?
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  • He was surprised to find almost no literature on blinking behavior in active humans even though under extreme conditions like motor racing or cycling
    • Sean Nash
       
      OK, now this SCREAMS: "potential research idea."
  • Nishizono and colleagues mounted eye trackers on the helmets of three drivers and had them drive three Formula circuits
  • Where the drivers blinked was surprisingly predictable, the team found. The drivers had a shared pattern of blinking that had a strong connection with acceleration, such that drivers tended not to blink while changing speed or direction — like while on a curve in the track — but did blink while on relatively safer straightaways.
    • Sean Nash
       
      What sort of implications does this have for driving in key, known, busy interchanges in KC? Could we potentially provide data to show certain stretches of highway need more signage, etc? That could have civil engineering implications.
  • “We think of blinking as this nothing behavior,” he says, “but it’s not just wiping the eyes. Blinking is a part of our visual system.”
  • Nishizono next wants to explore what processes in the brain allow or inhibit blinking in a given moment, he says, and is also interested in how blinking behavior varies among the general population.
    • Sean Nash
       
      While the "brain" part might move beyond our feasibility, the potential of finding real correlations to driving patterns or routes is a completely different spin-off and one that could have really practical suggestive applications for city planners, etc.
Sean Nash

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

  • Study shows experimental evidence of an altruistic nature in small convict cichlid fish
    • Sean Nash
       
      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

  • 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
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  • 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
       
      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
       
      So an increase of foods with natural extracts, so just plain vegetables that are not processed.
  • γ rays
    • katherine-medina
       
      I had no idea these were a thing.
  • 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.
  • 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
       
      WOW so flavonoids have a large variety and classes.
  • 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.
  • 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
       
      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.
  • 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
       
      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
  •  
    A good overview about polyphenols.
katherine-medina

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

  • Three of the 11 birds improved, and side effects were rare
    • katherine-medina
       
      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
       
      Cool
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  • 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
       
      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
       
      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
       
      I wonder if there is any course of treatment that is similar to clomipramine, but has a higher solution rate.
  •  
    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.)
Sean Nash

Airplane Noise Exposure May Increase Risk of Chronic Disease | SPH - 0 views

  • “Prior research has shown that aircraft noise can elevate stress responses and disturb sleep, but there has been mixed evidence of any links with body mass index,” says study lead and corresponding author Matthew Bozigar, assistant professor of epidemiology at OSU and a former postdoctoral associate at SPH. “We were surprised to see a fairly robust link between aircraft noise and higher body mass index among women across the US.”
    • Sean Nash
       
      Again, this reminds me of the UCSD juncos and the increased stressors they must endure to live in an urban environment. However, we must remember that just because their emerging population in and around the UCSD campus is successful, it comes with a cost of shorter lifespans, increased mortality, etc. Very interesting stuff.
  • These new findings underscore the role of the environment on one’s risk of chronic disease.
  • Junenette Peters, associate professor of environmental health, and colleagues examined airplane noise exposure and self-reported BMI and other individual characteristics among nearly 75,000 participants living around 90 of the major US airports
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  • The team examined aircraft noise levels every five years from 1995 to 2010, using a day-night estimate (DNL) that captures the average noise level over a 24-hour period and applies a 10 dB adjustment for aircraft noise occurring at night, when background noise is low.
  • Although the team acknowledges that BMI is a suboptimal metric, the independent and strong association between more aircraft noise exposure and higher BMI that they observed is notable.
  • “We can only hypothesize about why we saw these regional variations, but one reason may relate to the era of regional development, building characteristics, and climate which may affect factors such as housing age, design, and level of insulation,” says Peters. “Regional differences in temperature and humidity may influence behaviors such as window opening, so perhaps study participants living in the West were more exposed to aircraft noise due to open windows or housing type, which allowed more noise to penetrate.”
  • Previous data suggest that Black, Hispanic, and low-income populations are disproportionately exposed to aircraft noise. The participants in the NHS study groups were primarily White and of mid-level socioeconomic status. 
  • “We need to study the potential health impacts of environmental injustices in transportation noise exposures alongside other environmental drivers of poor health outcomes” Bozigar says. “There is a lot more to figure out, but this study adds evidence to a growing body of literature that noise negatively impacts health.”
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