There are few things in life that can be separated distinctly from each other: science and art are some of those things. This diagram is a compilation of computer graphics, geometry and actual images of mouse back skin taken from a legitimate and productive research project. Who would have guessed that follicles and dermis could be so fun. Below is a cover submission to an online journal that provides help for graphic artists. 
Monthly Archives: April 2017
Diagram: SP-A and lamellar bodies
An article by Palaniyar N, Ikegami M, Korfhagen T, Whitsett J, McCormack FX. 2001 entitled Domains of surfactant protein A that affect protein oligomerization, lipid structure and surface tension, published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 129:109-127, presents a diagram of how the 18-mer of SP-A might integrate itself into the outer lamellae of lamellar bodies in alveolar type II cells. I did notice an inconsistency, perhaps, in the diagrams. The bottom diagram (left bottom) shows the SP-A molecules with their N terminals all pointing inside, or towards each other in the center of these tubular myelin structures (the diagram is a 2D model of a 3D structure, hence “tubular”). In the granule found in alveolar type II cells which I have been trying to describe morphologically for several years has a layering pattern that suggests that the carbohydrate recognition domains are actually pointing “away” from each other. This is replicated in the diagram to the left. The inconsistency comes in how the SP-A molecules are represented in the top portion of the diagrams, which I duplicated in part, and re-oriented the SP-A molecules to match the tubular myelin arrangement shown in their figure (bottom left). To me this makes more sense, and it also is consistent with the layering of the alveolar type II cell granule in guinea pit, ferret, and dog, and in addition, with the outward orientation proposed for the Birbeck granule (the C-type lectin, langerin). Comments are welcome. My edits to their diagram are in the red dotted inset to right.
Alveolar type II cell of a cat: surfactant granule?
This electron micrograph is from a cat lung, and is an alveolar type II cell. There are some areas of dilated RER which seem to fit the description of a surfactant protein A type organized granule. In particular this banding, which is admittedly faint (not section chatter as just above it there is the membrane of a mitochondrion which is pretty much in line with the middle band of this granule which might make one think the banding is chatter, but the dense line does not extent further into the micrograph past the rounded edge of the mitochonrion, therefore is not likely to be chatter.
I think it is the best example of layering (oligomerization of the protein) within the RER that I have of the few electron micrographs of cat lung that I have.
A lamellar body is within the image on the left of the nucleus in the lower magnification view. The enlarged portion is demarked with a white box (in the left hand image). Judge size by using the two ribosomes on the upper membrane of the perinuclear area that has the layering (layers are pointed out with black arrows). Ribosomes would be about 27 nm in diameter, making the banding about four ribosomes wide…. or more or less equivalent to the 100 nm layering predicted to be SP-A. Yep, circumstantial, but quite likely.
Cat number 3, alveolar type II cell electron micrograph, neg 7268 block 24564, original magnification 5000 x, enlarged 4x.
Sara-Witts-end: awesome thoughts
Yeah, so maybe I’m a little salty this morning because I got woken-up by Bizzy shanking my right nostril with her toenail, but……
Sometimes I look around, and I’m astounded at how good and accepting people can be. Other times I wake up and I am BAFFLED at where we still are as a species.
Look at us. Look around. If it isn’t sprouting from the ground, visible on a clear night, warming your back and lighting the sky, or falling from it, then we as humans, likely made it.
Our brains are astonishing. We can solve numerical equations and riddles of physics, cure disease, we can build beautiful homes, luxurious cars, and things that catapult us miles and miles across the sky just for shits and giggles.
We have figured out how to communicate with thousands of people at once, using little palm-sized, picture taking, artificially intelligent entertainment boxes.
But you know what we can’t seem to do with our brains, complete with the most complex frontal lobes of any being???
We can’t seem to figure out how to be nice to one another. Seems like a huge waste to me.
If we were less sentient beings that couldn’t crawl out from under our animalistic instincts, it would be excusable.
But, it’s sad to think we are so superbly equipped to do good things by one another, and not just MAKE good things for OURSELVES, while we dismantle the people around us…. and we can’t seem to get it.
If there IS some cosmic “thing” observing our behavior, then I bet you he/she/it is highly disappointed.
REPOSTED from Sara Witts facebook page (without her permission i might add, but i am her mom>>>>!!!!
More packaging errors for Kroger products
Kroger has received several calls from me about packaging errors. These have been about Private Selection frozen cherries and small bags of Private Selection frozen blueberries, and also about their low fat cream cheese.
Packaging errors are serious. They put the public at risk for disease. Food borne illnesses cause inconvenience, pain and rarely can cause death and are not something to ignore. If i complain to Kroger they need to listen, do they, well, listening vs doing something are very different things.
The latest packaging error was Private Selection blueberries (the 3 lb bag) which you will see by the pictures below (inside and out) had two very big holes where the seal for the bottom of the bag somehow was not made. I didn’t notice until most of the blueberries were eaten, I began to see blueberry juice on the bottom shelf of my freezer, then one day blueberries began dropping out the bottom of the bag. What is the bottom line: IF THINGS CAN GET OUT>>> THEN THINGS CAN GET IN. In this case the holes were big enough for small animals – not so LOL. Their comment on the phone included a coupon, which is NOT what was appropriate, but an investigation into the quality control of the packaging plant where it was processed is what was required. Do I have any hope for that, well, not really.
Adding this post still weeks afer I called Kroger, and we have another 3 lb bag of Private Selection Frozen Blueberries with a hole in the bag. This one is not completely open as above, but I found it the same way, just drip drip of blue berry water out the hole. They should respond. This is a health hazard. Will they respond… their fix for the last notifcation was to try to buy me off with a new bag of blueberries…. which by the way was this one, with another hole…. poetic… yes.
