amythestudent-blog

[amythestudent-blog]

Finished product for ILAS conference. Taken a couple of weeks and helpful instructions from my supervisor but it’s done \m/

[amythestudent-blog]

A quick plan for my literature review. 

[amythestudent-blog]

PG conference: talking heads.

So, in preparation for an upcoming conference talk that my supervisor has encouraged me to take part in I needed to write an abstract of my research. 

This a layman conference so it needed to be simplified into none jargonistic terms. Here goes, it’s the first draft so it’s still a bit wobbly.

“Inflammation is our bodies natural defence mechanism. It protects us from pathogenic stimuli e.g. viruses and maintains healthy tissue homeostasis by removing dead, damaged or defective cells. Inflammation can go wrong. Inflammation has been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases examples include; Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, stroke … It is thought that healthy neurones get caught in collateral damage in cases of chronic, overly, or inappropriately activated inflammation. In the brain, microglia are the primary immune cells of the brains immune system. Microglia have 3 activation states with different behavioural characteristics. In the M0 state microglia constantly survey the area in anticipation of an inflammatory cue. In the M1 state they react to various environmental stimuli to be pro-inflammatory. In the M2, the “alternative activation state”, they demonstrate both pro-repair and anti-inflammatory behaviours, potentially beneficial to patients. M1 microglia are thought to be destructive in the areas of the brain most affected in Parkinson’s disease, namely, the substantia nigra of the midbrain . This project focuses on switching activation states of microglia from M1 (damaging) to M2 (possibly protective), which may be a useful therapy for Parkinson’s patients.”

[amythestudent-blog]

Study buddies. Updating my post graduate personal development and learning plan with a fury friend. Mphil is on the go \m/

[amythestudent-blog]

Finally started !

After waiting for a while to start my Mphil I’ve started! Week one, orientation of the lab :) !

[amythestudent-blog]

How Rabies Induces Frenzied Behavior

Scientists may finally understand how the rabies virus can drastically change its host’s behavior to help spread the disease, which kills about 59,000 people annually.

The research is in Scientific Reports. (full open access)

[amythestudent-blog]

Experimenting with reading style.

So I’ve recently rediscovered the SQ3R method of reading for remembering. The aim of this method of reading to push towards an active form and away from passive autopilot forms. 

Survey stage

 Read the first paragraph and last paragraph of a chapter or subheading.

 Read the intervening paragraphs topic sentences.

 Study graphs and diagrams if there are any.

Question stage 

Ask yourself “what do I already know about this topic ?”

Is the author likely to tell me anything that I don’t know? If not is reading this a waste of valuable time?

What am I reading this for?

Read stage 

Scan the section you are interested in (scanning for key words, key statements)

Revisit the initial questions

Don’t stop to search for unknown words

Recall stage

Close the book/ article you have been reading 

Explain what you have read in the best form for you. (I pretend I’m teaching and then use the Cornell note taking method).

[amythestudent-blog]

Date 16/10/2017

Accompanying me today Yun-wu Zhang- APP processing in Alzheimer’s disease and Christian Haass - Trafficking and Proteolytic Processing of APP.

No study session is complete without the mandatory deus ex ambient mix as motivation 

[amythestudent-blog]

Abscence (15/10/2017)

So the last couple of days were a tad hectic. Work and family visits whilst juggling the gym! So studying took a back seat. However, I got a spare couple of hours now to research bullet journals. Fun ! (not even sarcastic) I need a fun and stress relieving way to organize my week. 

[amythestudent-blog]

Beginning the literature review

So, let's get started!

I am taking the skeleton of the background information of my grant proposal and expanding further. 

Here is the basic idea: 

AD 

What is it? 

Causes 

definition

symptoms

Amyloid beta 

Tau 

aluminium

O.S.

Amyloid beta 

definition 

mutations

roles it plays outside of pathology

Amyloid processing

Amyloid beta hypothesis - links with Tau pathology

amyloidogenic and non-amyloidogenic pathway

ADAMs different types 

APP trafficking

trans-golgi network 

Tau 

definition 

role outside of pathology

NFTs

Pathology in neurones

DHA 

definition 

Conversion of DHA from ALA

Delivery to the brain

potential as a neuroprotective agent (general)

Different fatty acids and there potential as neuro-protective agents (general)

need for supplementation?

DHA and Alzheimer's disease 

Experimental evidence ( +/-) 

Possible mechanisms 

Tau NFTs 

amyloid plaques 

Secretases 

I first intended to tackle each section separately. I started with Amyloid beta but upon undertaking this task I realized that it was important to cross-reference with the other sections. For example, further information was required on the trans-Golgi network before exploring the two processing pathways. 

This list is in present in a notebook on my Evernote account thus it always accessible. Whenever I choose to study a topic for my literature review I consult this list to see if there any overlaps with other sections I am due to discuss. This enables me to move away from descriptive understanding into more analytical and synthetic forms. 

[amythestudent-blog]

Grant Proposal Completed

Took a couple of hard-working weeks and finally ... the finished product ... fingers crossed my supervisor is as excited as Kimmy to see it