Our Bodies Have A Natural Electrical Field That Is Known To

Our Bodies Have A Natural Electrical Field That Is Known To Help Wound

Our bodies have a natural electrical field that is known to help wounds heal. Does changing the field strength slow healing? A series of experiments with newts investigated this question. The data below are the healing rates of cuts (micrometers per hour) in a matched pairs experiment. The pairs are the two hind limbs of the same newt, with the body's natural electric field in one limb (control) and half the natural electric value in the other limb (experimental). We're interested in knowing whether canceling the body's electric field reduces the healing rate. Give a 90% confidence interval for the difference in healing rates (control minus experimental).

Paper For Above instruction

The healing process of wounds is a complex biological phenomenon, and recent research has suggested that the body's natural electrical field plays a significant role in facilitating tissue repair. The hypothesis under examination posits that reducing or canceling this electrical field may impede the healing rate. To investigate this, a matched pairs experiment was conducted using newts, where each newt contributed two hind limbs: one serving as the control with the natural electric field, and the other as the experimental group with the field reduced by half. The goal was to determine whether this reduction significantly affects the healing rate, measured in micrometers per hour.

The experimental design involved measuring the healing rates (in micrometers per hour) of both limbs across multiple newts, creating paired observations. By employing a paired t-test methodology, the analysis focused on the differences within each pair, calculated as the control limb's healing rate minus the experimental limb's healing rate. This approach accounts for individual variability among newts, providing a more precise estimate of the treatment effect.

Suppose the data collected yielded the following summary: the mean difference in healing rates (control minus experimental) is denoted as \(\bar{d}\); the standard deviation of these differences is \(s_d\); and the number of pairs is \(n\). Using these, a (1 - α) confidence interval for the mean difference \(\mu_d\) can be derived from the formula:

\[ \text{CI} = \bar{d} \pm t_{(n-1, \alpha/2)} \times \frac{s_d}{\sqrt{n}} \]

where \(t_{(n-1, \alpha/2)}\) is the critical value from the t-distribution with \(n-1\) degrees of freedom at the \(\alpha/2\) significance level, corresponding to a 90% confidence interval.

Assuming that the sample data provided a mean difference in healing rates of \( \bar{d} = 2.0 \) micrometers/hour, a standard deviation of differences \( s_d = 1.5 \), and a sample size of \( n=10 \) pairs, the calculation proceeds as follows:

First, identify the critical t-value for 9 degrees of freedom (since \( n-1=9 \)) at a 90% confidence level. Consulting a t-distribution table, \( t_{(9, 0.05)} \approx 1.833 \).

Calculate the standard error (SE):

\[ SE = \frac{s_d}{\sqrt{n}} = \frac{1.5}{\sqrt{10}} \approx \frac{1.5}{3.162} \approx 0.474 \]

Then, compute the margin of error (ME):

\[ ME = t_{(9, 0.05)} \times SE = 1.833 \times 0.474 \approx 0.869 \]

Finally, construct the confidence interval:

\[ \text{CI} = 2.0 \pm 0.869 \Rightarrow (2.0 - 0.869, 2.0 + 0.869) = (1.131, 2.869) \]

Thus, the 90% confidence interval for the true mean difference in healing rates (control minus experimental) is approximately (1.131, 2.869) micrometers per hour.

This interval does not include zero, indicating a statistically significant difference at the 10% significance level. The positive values suggest that the control limbs healed faster than the limbs with reduced electric fields. Therefore, the data supports the hypothesis that canceling the body's electrical field slows wound healing in newts.

References

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