Pub Date : 2018-11-25DOI: 10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1909
Mostafa Mohammed Elsabagh, K. Dej
Nematodes (Nematoda) are slim tubular worms ranging between 0.5 mm – 2 mm in length and 10 to 100 µm thick. They have effectively adapted to inhabit all regions of the Earth, but are most commonly found in soils, decomposing vegetation, and freshwater sources. Ceanorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), an important member of this phylum, is a valuable model system. Owing to its small, fully sequenced genome, it is typically used to model the development of some diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases. Nematodes are highly diverse, with over 30,000 species having not yet been described. While C. elegans will continue to be the primary model species, the classification of previously unknown species is valuable as it allows for study of the evolutionary pathway leading to each species, behavior and instincts, and how such animals behave as parasites. This diversity is exciting, and Drs. Kimberly Dej and Bhagwati Gupta work with students to document new species. In the laboratory, we use morphological analysis of the mouth, the pharynx, and the tail, combined with data generated by sequencing the 18S small ribosomal subunit rRNA gene to explore and document these new species. Here, we discuss how it was determined that a unique specimen collected from the Hamilton, Ontario area was found to have features of multiple genera: Oscheius and Ceanoreabditis.
{"title":"Characterizing a new species of Nematoda using genetic and morphological analyses","authors":"Mostafa Mohammed Elsabagh, K. Dej","doi":"10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1909","url":null,"abstract":"Nematodes (Nematoda) are slim tubular worms ranging between 0.5 mm – 2 mm in length and 10 to 100 µm thick. They have effectively adapted to inhabit all regions of the Earth, but are most commonly found in soils, decomposing vegetation, and freshwater sources. Ceanorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), an important member of this phylum, is a valuable model system. Owing to its small, fully sequenced genome, it is typically used to model the development of some diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases. Nematodes are highly diverse, with over 30,000 species having not yet been described. While C. elegans will continue to be the primary model species, the classification of previously unknown species is valuable as it allows for study of the evolutionary pathway leading to each species, behavior and instincts, and how such animals behave as parasites. This diversity is exciting, and Drs. Kimberly Dej and Bhagwati Gupta work with students to document new species. In the laboratory, we use morphological analysis of the mouth, the pharynx, and the tail, combined with data generated by sequencing the 18S small ribosomal subunit rRNA gene to explore and document these new species. Here, we discuss how it was determined that a unique specimen collected from the Hamilton, Ontario area was found to have features of multiple genera: Oscheius and Ceanoreabditis.","PeriodicalId":262888,"journal":{"name":"Sciential - McMaster Undergraduate Science Journal","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132821354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-25DOI: 10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1922
Ishita Paliwal, C. Reintjes, P. Schimmer, Mary Anne Schoenhardt, Jasmine Yang
It is well known that plant-animal systems interact in many complex ways, and each organism must adapt and develop mechanisms to best survive in their given conditions. While much is understood about the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the aphid Myzus persicae, additional research must be conducted to gain more knowledge about the interactions between the two species. As a defence mechanism, in response to aphid feeding, A. thaliana converts sucrose into starch. Due to a lack of sucrose, there is less feeding by M. persicae. However, it has not yet been shown if these aphids are able to detect an increase in starch and recognize this as a deterrent to feeding. To test this, varying concentrations of potato starch were applied mechanically to A. thaliana (n=36) and the effect on aphid population size and plant health was analyzed. The research team found that M. persicae do not detect higher starch levels on A. thaliana as an indicator that nutrient availability on the plant is limited. Instead, it was found that on all but one plant, high starch concentration was a factor in plant deterioration. Thus, the research team advises against using starch as an organic pesticide. The findings of this study are significant as they will contribute to a better understanding of the organisms that threaten plant health, which will prove to be useful in the maintenance of various food crops.
{"title":"effect of applying starch onto Arabidopsis thaliana on the feeding behaviour of Myzus persicae","authors":"Ishita Paliwal, C. Reintjes, P. Schimmer, Mary Anne Schoenhardt, Jasmine Yang","doi":"10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1922","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1922","url":null,"abstract":"It is well known that plant-animal systems interact in many complex ways, and each organism must adapt and develop mechanisms to best survive in their given conditions. While much is understood about the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the aphid Myzus persicae, additional research must be conducted to gain more knowledge about the interactions between the two species. As a defence mechanism, in response to aphid feeding, A. thaliana converts sucrose into starch. Due to a lack of sucrose, there is less feeding by M. persicae. However, it has not yet been shown if these aphids are able to detect an increase in starch and recognize this as a deterrent to feeding. To test this, varying concentrations of potato starch were applied mechanically to A. thaliana (n=36) and the effect on aphid population size and plant health was analyzed. The research team found that M. persicae do not detect higher starch levels on A. thaliana as an indicator that nutrient availability on the plant is limited. Instead, it was found that on all but one plant, high starch concentration was a factor in plant deterioration. Thus, the research team advises against using starch as an organic pesticide. The findings of this study are significant as they will contribute to a better understanding of the organisms that threaten plant health, which will prove to be useful in the maintenance of various food crops.","PeriodicalId":262888,"journal":{"name":"Sciential - McMaster Undergraduate Science Journal","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122167735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-25DOI: 10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1914
Tyler Redublo
Historically, the field of mental health has been shrouded in controversy and conflict. The problems associated with diagnosing mental illnesses are still prevalent today, and this process becomes even more complicated when assessing children, who have yet to develop mature social skills and cognitive functioning. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the mental health conditions that is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Overwhelming support from the primary literature suggests that the current procedures of diagnosing ADHD- which begin during childhood- allow for a high degree of subjectivity, inconsistency, and uncertainty. For these reasons, the issue of over-diagnosing ADHD in children has become more significant, and more plausible than ever before. By outlining the key factors that contribute to this problem, certain modifications can be made to improve the ADHD diagnostic procedures for future applications. These changes can increase the accuracy of mental health assessments, thus minimizing the number of false positive diagnoses of ADHD in children worldwide.
{"title":"What’s Wrong with Me? What’s Wrong with You? The Issue of Over-Diagnosing ADHD in Children","authors":"Tyler Redublo","doi":"10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/sciential.v1i1.1914","url":null,"abstract":"Historically, the field of mental health has been shrouded in controversy and conflict. The problems associated with diagnosing mental illnesses are still prevalent today, and this process becomes even more complicated when assessing children, who have yet to develop mature social skills and cognitive functioning. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the mental health conditions that is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Overwhelming support from the primary literature suggests that the current procedures of diagnosing ADHD- which begin during childhood- allow for a high degree of subjectivity, inconsistency, and uncertainty. For these reasons, the issue of over-diagnosing ADHD in children has become more significant, and more plausible than ever before. By outlining the key factors that contribute to this problem, certain modifications can be made to improve the ADHD diagnostic procedures for future applications. These changes can increase the accuracy of mental health assessments, thus minimizing the number of false positive diagnoses of ADHD in children worldwide.","PeriodicalId":262888,"journal":{"name":"Sciential - McMaster Undergraduate Science Journal","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127911140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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