Saumil+Jariwala

__**Draft of High School iPS Proposal**__

This article is a general review of the effect of assorted gene variants on the HIV-1 virus. Also, a small part of the paper is dedicated to a geographic analysis of HIV-1 progression in the world, with a focus on India. The article lists over 20 gene variants of different coreceptors, cytokines, and chemokines, which all affect the way HIV manifests itself in the body. Specific gene variants can confer resistance to infection, delay the onset of AIDS, aid other genes in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, accelerate AIDS (sometimes in specific ethnic groups), and accelerate the death of CD4 T-cells. The paper then goes on to mention that the CCR5-D32 mutation, one of the most important in providing HIV/AIDS resistance, has a high predominance (10 – 16%) in Scandinavians and other northern European groups, with a steady decline in percentage as the Mediterranean Sea is approached. In addition, the protective mutation is not widely present (<0.5%) in people who originate from Asia, Africa, Australia, or the Americas. Th e end of the paper dealt with immunodeficiency markers in northern Indians who were infected with HIV, and in general, Indians possess many of the gene variants that increase susceptibility, accelerate HIV disease progression, and accelerate onset of AIDS.
 * __Immunogenic basis of HIV-1 infection, transmission, and disease progression__**

__**“****Microfibrillated cellulose from the peel of prickly pear fruits”**__ This article, “Microfibrillated cellulose from the peel of prickly pear fruits,” involved the observation of cellulose obtained from the skin of the prickly pear through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and NMR 13C spectroscopy. The skin of the fruit was first treated to remove all non-cellulose products present, including mucilage, pectin and hemicelluloses. The skin was then purified to remove fats and waxes, and then various forms of characterization were performed. The results helped explain the prickly pear’s high water retention, and it was revealed that, although its soil and water requirements are very low, the prickly pear has better nutritional value than other fruits, including the sugar beet. This means that, besides its value from creation of ethanol, prickly pear could become a staple food product in a region that historically suffers from food shortages. My article, entitled “Microfibrillated Cellulose from Prickly Pear Fruits” investigated the cellulose content of prickly pear fruit, a product of cacti commonly grown in Northern Africa. Cellulose is one of the major constituents of a plants, but the nature of this polysaccharide—it is not easily biodegradable—means that it is hard to utilize. One of the few routes for cellulose use is through the creation of ethanol, which essentially converts this waste product to a highly-demanded product. In Northern Africa (and Morocco), cacti, specifically the species //Opuntia ficus indica// (OFI), are grown to combat desertification. If this practice is to become more widespread, it needs to also be profitable: as a result, this experiment was conducted to see if the cellulose content of the skin of OFI fruit was high enough to increase the perceived economic value of the crop. The results section includes many comparisons between fruits and prickly pears. In fact, the results support many physical observations about prickly pears, including their rheological capacity (i.e. water retention). In fact, characterization of the prickly pear revealed information that suggests that prickly pears may have a higher nutritional level than previously thought: the lab indicated that prickly pears have a nutrition content higher than that of sugar beets. Youssef Habibi, Mostafa Mahrouz, Michel R. Vignon, Microfibrillated cellulose from the peel of prickly pear fruits, Food Chemistry, Volume 115, Issue 2, 15 July 2009, Pages 423-429, ISSN 0308-8146, DOI: 0.1016/j.foodchem.2008.12.034. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T6R-4V70NK6-3/2/05e6e8032d2d8de374dca36a8937bf24)
 * Citation:**