BME100 f2014:Group26 L1

BME 100 Fall 2014	Home People Lab Write-Up 1 | Lab Write-Up 2 | Lab Write-Up 3 Lab Write-Up 4 | Lab Write-Up 5 | Lab Write-Up 6 Course Logistics For Instructors Photos Wiki Editing Help
OUR TEAM Ambike Bhraguvanshi Timothy Chen Andrew Polson Rachel Ponstein Jiaqi Wu LAB 1 WRITE-UP Independent and Dependent Variables The independent variable (the variable being changed as part of the experiment) is the dosage of the lipopolysaccharide. The dependent variable (the variable consequentially being changed by the change of the independent variable) is the increase in the production of the inflammatory protein: inflammotin. The dosage of the lipopolysaccharide is the independent variable because it is what is being manipulated in the experiment, specifically to find a lowest possible dose to produce an increase in the production of inflammotin, which is the dependent variable, as it is being measured in response to different dosages of lipopolysaccharide. Experimental Design Groups There will be 3 groups total in this experiment. Each group will be given a different dosage of the pill. One group will be the control group, and each member will be given 10.0 mg pills, since it has been already established that 10.0 mg pills raise inflammotin production in the elderly. The two other groups will be given 5.0 mg and 2.5 mg pills. Since the objective is to lower the dosage of lipopolysaccharide while still keeping the inflammotin levels above normal in an elderly subject, the 5.0 mg group and a 2.5 mg group will therefore be the experimental groups. Age Elderly subjects between 65-85 years old will be selected for this experiment. Number of subjects per group There will be 10 subjects in each group. Subject Selection Subjects of ages 65-85 will be chosen from 3 retirement homes around the valley. Each retirement home will be provided a volunteer sign-up sheet, and of the individuals that sign up per location, 10 will be chosen at random. This is being done in order to prevent bias in the experiment. As a result of a limited budget, this experiment will not be searching for subjects outside the Tempe, Arizona area. Sources of Error and Bias Some possible scientific error could result from drug interactions, failure to comply with drug administration and preexisting medical conditions. To fix these sources of error, patients could be monitored periodically or tested each time they come in to make sure they are taking the assigned prescriptions regularly. Furthermore, subjects could be tested for any concurrent or previous drug use that may interfere with the data from this lab. In addition, it may be beneficial to review the subjects' medical records and make sure their preexisting medical conditions are compliant with the drug. Bias could result from small test groups, limited pooling area, and age range. Although there are only ten subjects per group, the individuals are chosen at random to minimize experimental bias. Three trials will be run, using the same subjects, to increase the veracity of the results. The limited pooling area is countered by the selection of test subjects from three different retirement homes. The age range was specifically chosen for older individuals 65-85 years old because, statistically speaking, the prevalence of inflammation increases with age, which explains why an older age range was set as the focus group of the experimental subjects.