Transcript Shu-ying Wang

Scientific Reading and Writing in English
discussion
Shu-ying Wang, Ph.D.
Dept. Microbiology and Immunology
Tel: +886-6-2353535 ext. 5634
Fax: +886-6-2082705
Email : [email protected]
Discussion
what do your findings mean
 First answer question posed in introduction
 Explain the significance of your results
 Explain the findings, relationships, and generalizations
of your results
 Do not repeat results
 Explains how results support answers and how answers
fit with existing knowledge on the topic
 Discuss weaknesses and discrepancies
 Conclusion/summary, perspectives, implications
 Has a beginning, middle, and end
Part 1, Beginning
present the strongest evidence first
Begin with significance of your results
 Never begin with background information
 Never repeat information from Introduction
 Never begin with historical overviews
Part 1, beginning cont’d
Ex 1
The question posed in Introduction…
“… However, the functions of Egr-1 in viral replication and
disease progression remain unclear. …..”
Is answered in your Discussion…
“.. The present study provides what we believe is the first
evidence that Egr-1 acts as an enhancer for HSV-1 replication
by binding to and activating the promoters of viral genes
important for productive infection. Furthermore, suppression
of Egr-1 reduces the viral replication in infected cells, viral
loads in mouse tissues, and mortality in infected mice with
HSV-1 encephalitis. ……”
Part 1, beginning cont’d
Ex 2
The question posed in Introduction…
“… A question arises whether the domains of DbpA proteins
normally form a stable, compact structure in solution, similar
to replication involved helicases such as Rep, PcrA, and the
hepatitis C virus helicase fragment (5), or whether they are
distended from each other like beads on a string…..”
Is answered in your Discussion…
“.. The data presented here, demonstrating that the domains of
YxiN are loosely tethered and distended in absence of ligands,
support a model in which YxiN functions as an RNA
chaperone…”
Part 2, Middle
interpret your results
 Show how your results fit into the literature
and how they support your answer
 Give in descending order of importance
 Compare your results with other studies,
your work or others
 Use one idea per paragraph
Ex 1
“ The Zta protein of Epstein-Barr virus has been shown to activate
the Egr-1 promoter (14). Our in vitro results showed that
infectious but not UV-inactivated HSV-1 induces Egr-1
expression, indicating that the viral replication process is required
for induction. Our additional results found that HSV-1 infection
activates Egr-1 promoter activity in SK-N-SH cells via interaction
with the 5′ end of the promoter (Supplemental Figure 2), which
contains a cAMP response element and binding sites for several
transcription factors, including SP1, AP1, and Egr-1 itself
(35). …..”
Ex 2
“… we showed that HR212 could inhibit NDV-mediated cell
fusion... This was in contrast to the results of others [16], which... As
a further characterization, we detected the inhibition of HR212
added… This result implied that the conformational changes of the F
protein occurred very quickly after receptor binding to the HN
protein… This may explain why the inhibition activity was much
lower if added after cleavage activation. However, all these results
are still consistent with the idea that HR2 peptides could interact …”
Part 3, Ending
be strong
 Restate answer to question, and signal this
ending
 Mention possible applications, implications, or
speculations
 Pull out as a separate Conclusions section
 Suggest future work if needed
Ex 1
“…..Our study showing that knockdown of Egr-1 prevents the
mortality of HSV-1–infected mice by reducing viral
replication in tissues provides a cellular target for developing
alternative therapies. Further studies are needed to test
whether blocking Egr-1, which is unlikely to mutate, could be
an alternative therapy for preventing HSV-induced diseases or
reducing infections caused by drug-resistant mutants in
patients.”
Ex 2
“ The structure of the FlhDC complex presented
here reveals the tertiary fold of the FlhC protomer,
including a zinc-binding site that has not been
described previously. It also reveals the quaternary
interface between the FlhD and FlhC subunits, and
provides a structural framework for future studies
of the interaction of the complex with its target
promoters.”
Homework:
Practice to write your own “Discussion” section
The baseline characteristics are shown in Table 1. Table 2 shows
the body temperature of all female subjects.
The baseline characteristics are shown in Table 1, and the body
temperature of all female subjects are shown in Table 2.
Table 1 and Table 2 show the baseline characteristics, and the body
temperature of all female subjects, respectively.
It is well known that there are three forms of NO synthase…….
There are three forms of NO synthase…..
In a previous study it was demonstrated that IbaI was detected in
monocytic cells.
IbaI was detected in monocytic cells (Lopez et al 1995).
(including a reference here indicates that this was found in a previous
report)
GST-F was also shown to bound to….
GST-F bound to ….
The role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in MPGN has not been
elucidated yet.
The role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in MPGN is not known.
Excessive in vitro LPS-induced production of IL-1 in chronic liver
diseases and their correlation with hepatic fibrosis has been reported.
Hepatic fibrosis is associated with excessive in vitro LPS-induced
production of IL-1 in chronic liver diseases.