Writing Assignment for CBLG 143 F22

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Toronto Metropolitan University *

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143

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Biology

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Jan 9, 2024

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1 Critical Analysis of Scientific Papers CBLG 143 F2022 Use the University’s online library, locate the following paper yourself. Pietrini F, Iannelli MA, Massacci A. 2002. Anthocyanin accumulation in the illuminated surface of maize leaves enhances protection from photo-inhibitory risks at low temperature, without further limitation to photosynthesis. Plant, Cell and Environment. 25: 1251-1259. Download a pdf copy of this paper and read thoroughly. This assignment asks that you critically examine the paper for structure and content, as a guide to writing scientific papers in your future lab courses (e.g. CBLG 144), and to answer the following questions regarding this paper. It is strongly recommended that you read through the paper completely first, then attempt to answer these questions. Your answers should be numbered corresponding to each of the following questions and headings and be in your own words using properly structured sentences (i.e. do not just put yes, no, or repeat the question in your answer!!). If you need help with this, take advantage of the Writing Center ’s services. When handing in your assignment be sure that your title page has all the required information. When doing this assignment DO NOT provide the questions. Number your responses correctly and provide only your answers. Providing the questions will interfere with Turnitin and thus result in marks being deducted . Each answer is worth 1 mark unless otherwise indicated. Read each question carefully and provide an answer to that question. You may notice that some questions are similar, but in actual fact that are asking for something different. So be sure you read each question carefully. Some questions relate to this paper specifically to determine if you can extract the pertinent content, and some questions relate to the writing of scientific papers in general to provide you with the knowledge of the proper content of a scientific paper, since you may be writing them in your future careers. Therefore be sure to read each question carefully and provide an answer that is based on either a general paper or this specific paper. Appendix I may also be of help when doing this assignment. The following is an excerpt from a scientific paper to illustrate an example of how to write an answer in your own words for the question: What makes these two species a good choice to use as subjects in this study? Since the two species share recent evolutionary history (both are Lythraceae ), rely on a similar pollinator community, and co-flower for approximately 3 weeks in late summer, they provide a highly suitable study system. Acceptable Answer: These two species are a good choice to use as test subjects for this study because they both share a recent evolutionary history, both use comparable pollinators and they flower at a similar time during late summer.

2 Background (3 points) 1. You were given the paper’s citation and asked to physically find the paper rather than a copy of this paper being posted on D2L. Besides for legal reasons, why do you think I did this? 2. What is plagiarism? What are the possible penalties for plagiarism? NOTE: Do not plagiaries your answers especially this one! (2 marks) Abstract (1 point each unless otherwise indicated = 6 Points) The purpose of an abstract is to provide a synopsis of the paper, a quick summary, for the reader to determine if this paper will be useful to them. An abstract should be concise and only a few hundred words in length but still provide the relevant information regarding the research. 3. What types of information does the abstract convey? (3 marks) 4. What were the most important results from their experiment? (2 marks) 5. Is it normal practice to cite other works in abstract? Introduction (1 point each unless otherwise indicated = 36 Points) The introduction section of a scientific paper not only covers the goals and objectives of the experiment discussed in the paper, but also includes a brief literature review of the background information needed to bring the reader up to speed on the area of research. The purpose of this literature review in the introduction is to not only help the reader understand the topic but to prepare them to better understand the purpose of the research carried out and what research has gone on before this work. It should also make the reader aware of what is unknown or the reason for this research. The literature review does not need to be exhaustive, but needs to be comprehensive. (Note if you are unfamiliar of what a literature review is, do a bit of quick research on this so that you can properly understand the questions in this section). 6. In the literature review for this paper, notice the authors go back in history to mine the literature for historical facts on the subject. Provide an example of a historical paper the authours used and the information they learned. Remember your answer is to be in your own words. 2 mark) 7. What is the specific research question that these researchers wish to determine? 8. The authors of this paper found conflicting research on the role of anthocyanins in plants. What are two of these conflicting hypotheses? (2 marks) 9. For this question, you will be using the passage provided below from a different paper and determine if a statement requires a citation. Use the colour scheme as provided to highlight your

3 answers. For each of the listed requirements below, provide different examples. Thus each statemet in the paragraph can only be highlighted with one colour although there are several instances where the same statement or sentence can be used correctly for a few of the different requirements so be sure that each of your answers uses a unique example. For this question, you are not required to write your answer, but rather are required to highlight the following passage with the provided colour scheme to indicate your answers. (19 marks) a. From the following passage provide 3 examples of biological statements (i.e. a statement that is about an established biological fact or result that needs to be supported with evidence (and thus needs to be cited) as it may be refuted or may not be well known information outside the field) b. From the following passage provide 3 examples of common knowledge statements (i.e. a statement that presents general background knowledge or facts on the subject and therefore does not need a citation) c. From the following passage provide 3 examples of scientific terms (a term that someone without a college or university level biology background would not know) d. From the following passage provide 3 examples of colloquial terms or statements (a informal term or statement that is not appropriate for a scientific paper) e. From the following passage provide 3 examples of different methods of citations that you find f. From the following passage provide 3 examples of where you think a citation should appear but there is not one. g. Is NASA, as it appears in brackets in this passage, a reference? Plants are essential for our survival as they provide food, fiber, building material, fuel, and pharmaceuticals as well as decorate our homes. Just out the window there are many different varieties that can be seen year-round. Plants also produce intangible benefits for people, such as improving our health whether the plants are found outdoors or indoors. Because of this, plants have many benefits and people have been bringing plants into their homes for thousands of years. Studies on the benefits of plants indicate how the use of plants are contributing to solve both environmental and health problems. The physical cause of the tangible effects, such as removing air pollutants, are relatively well understood. Having plants placed indoors around living and working areas would help alleviate the need for air purifying units with nanoparticle embedded photocatalytically active filter membranes. Today there are numerous scientific studies documenting the relationships between people and plants, both indoors and out (Lohr, 2000; Pearson-Mims and Lohr, 2000; Relf and Lohr, 2003). The range of benefits that has been documented is broad: air quality is improved (Wood et al., 2002), stress is lowered (Dijkstra et al., 2008), recovery from illness is faster (Ulrich, 1984),

4 mental fatigue is reduced (Tennessen and Cimprich, 1995), and productivity is higher (Lohr et al., 1996). The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funded early studies on using plants to clean the air in space stations. On the spaceship, these studies showed that many common foliage plants reduced levels of some interior pollutants, including formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, from small, sealed test chambers (Wolverton et al., 1984; 1985). This is good news because it would be nice to be rid of theses nasty chemicals. The pollution reduction was largely due to bacteria growing on the plant roots (Wolverton et al., 1989; Wood et al., 2002). Further research on the subject has shown that plants remove many indoor air pollutants, including ozone, toluene, and benzene (Darlington et al., 2001; Wood et al., 2002; Papinchak et al., 2009). When this research first received wide publicity, many in the building industry dismissed the work, because it was done in small, controlled chambers. Recent studies have shown that the effect does scale up to the whole building level. Based on such findings, Darlington et al. (2001) developed a biofiltration unit with interior plants and an aquarium that can effectively maintain healthy indoor air. Physically, plants contribute to cleaner, healthier air for us to breathe, thus improving our well-being and comfort. They make our surroundings prettier and more cozy. Plants placed indoors have been associated with reduced stress, increased pain tolerance, and improved productivity in people. If we understand this, then we can make better recommendations regarding the use of plants indoors and out to enhance their effects on people. Studies by Granger et al. in 2007 indicate that people have innate and adaptive immune responses to plants and some of these responses appear to have genetic components. 10. As a practice with citations and using the extracted paragraph below from a different paper, indicate for each instance (roman numeral) if the sentence preceding should have a citation or not and why. ( 5 marks ) Anthocyanins are pigments commonly found in flowers and the fruits of many plants that result in the appearance of red, purple and blue colours. (i) In recent years, a possible protective effect of photo abatement by anthocyanins has been observed. (ii) Other research has found that the stability of anthocyanins is dependent on the type of anthocyanin pigment, co-pigments, light, temperature, pH, metal ions, enzymes, oxygen, and antioxidants present and makes them extremely potent antioxidants, capable of scavenging most species of reactive oxygen (RO) in vitro. (iii) While this research found that anthocyanins possess antidiabetic, anticancer, anti- inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-obesity effects, as well as prevention of cardiovascular diseases. (iv) Mitter (1998) states that because the anthocyanins reside exclusively in the abaxial and adaxial epidermises of

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