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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Quantum Computations And Molecular Dynamics Simulations: From The Fundamentals Of Antimicrobial Resistance To Neurological Diseases, Angel Tamez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Biophysical phenomena are modeled using a combination of quantum and classical methods to interpret and supplement three distinct and diverse problems in this dissertation. In the first project, decarboxylation reactions are ubiquitous across chemical and biological disciplines, yet the origin of non-catalytic solvent effects remains elusive. Specific solvent structure and energetics have not been well described for the monoanion of malonate, nor corrected from the gas-phase charge-assisted intramolecular hydrogen bond model known as “pseudochair”. In the aqueous phase, a low-lying energy conformer known as the “orthogonal conformation” is computed to be preferred by a three-water cluster of hydrogen bonding over …
The Role Of Ehd2 In Endothelial Cells, Rachael Judson
The Role Of Ehd2 In Endothelial Cells, Rachael Judson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The role of EHD2 in terms of Cav1 interaction had not been previously characterized and was the main goal of this research. Cav1 has been shown to lead to the ubiquitination of Rac1. Because of this, the role of EHD2 in Rac1 regulation was investigated. An increase in long-term migration in endothelial cells was observed and suggested that EHD2 impacts the RhoA pathway instead of the Rac1 pathway. This lead to the hypothesis that EHD2 controls a part of the RhoA pathway. This hypothesis is supported by the loss of filamentous actin and an increase in serrated junctions in cells …
Stabilization Of Dna I-Motif Structures By 7-Aminoactinomycin D, An Anti-Tumor Drug, Justin Lane Parmely
Stabilization Of Dna I-Motif Structures By 7-Aminoactinomycin D, An Anti-Tumor Drug, Justin Lane Parmely
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Alternative DNA structures are likely to form from Watson-Crick B-form DNA when antitumor drug known to bind DNA loops -- can affect the iM structure. Our results demonstrate as an i-motif (iM). While both structures are known to exist in vivo they are energetically uphill can utilize intercalating cytosine-cytosine base pairing to form a four-stranded structure known controlled by alternative DNA structures like G4s and iMs. especially during processes that involve superhelical duress. A guanosine rich strand can form a facilitate their stabilization. In this report we present data on how 7-aminoactinomycin D -- an formation. Earlier it was believed …
Learning From Disorder And Noise In Physical Biology, Taylor Emil Firman
Learning From Disorder And Noise In Physical Biology, Taylor Emil Firman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Stochasticity, disorder, and noise play crucial roles in the functioning of many biological systems over many different length scales. On the molecular scale, most proteins are envisioned as pristinely folded structures, but intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have no such folded state and still serve distinct purposes within the cell. At the scale of gene regulation, realistic in vivo conditions produce stochastic fluctuations in gene expression that can lead to advantageous bet-hedging strategies, but can be difficult to characterize using a deterministic framework. Even at the organismal scale, germband extension (GBE) in Drosophila melanogaster embryos systematically elongates the epithelial tissue using …
Identifying The Relevance Of C-Reactive Protein Conformers And The Advancement Of A Membrane Curvature Binding Assay, Carrie Leine Moon
Identifying The Relevance Of C-Reactive Protein Conformers And The Advancement Of A Membrane Curvature Binding Assay, Carrie Leine Moon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lipid membranes play a vital role in cell signaling processes. Membrane shape and lipid content affect interactions between cellular membranes and proteins. This research focuses on characterizing those interactions and their impact by using various biochemical and biophysical assays. These assays were applied to C-reactive protein (CRP), an immune system protein that interacts with lipid membranes and has at least two forms with different properties. Native, pentameric CRP (pCRP) is found in blood serum and is commonly used as a marker for inflammation. The modified form of CRP (mCRP) binds to the protein C1q, which activates the complement immune response. …
Characterization Of The Vasoactivity Of Tachykinins In Isolated Rat Kidney: Functional Studies And In Vitro Receptor Autoradiography, Yuejin Chen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Although tachykinins have potent vascular actions, their effect on renal resistance blood vessels is currently unknown. The vasoactive properties of tachykinins and related analogs were assessed in isolated perfused rat kidney. At a basal perfusion pressure (PP) of 75 $\pm$ 6 mm Hg (n = 5), bolus injections of substance P (SP) had no significant vasoactive effect. Following a sustained increase in baseline PP (134 $\pm$ 10 mm Hg) produced by phenylephrine (1 $\mu$M), SP evoked a dose-dependent increase in PP. The largest dose of SP increased PP by 60 $\pm$ 5 mm Hg. The vasoconstrictor response to SP was …
Unusual Structure Of A Human Middle Repetitive Dna, Duminda D. Ratnasinghe
Unusual Structure Of A Human Middle Repetitive Dna, Duminda D. Ratnasinghe
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The L2Hs sequences are a polymorphic, interspersed, middle repetitive DNA family unique to human genomes. Genomic fingerprinting indicates that these DNAs vary from one individual to another and between tissues of the same individual. Sequence analysis reveals that they are AT-rich (76%) and contain many unusual sequence arrangements (palindromes, inverted and direct repeats). These sequence properties confer on the L2Hs elements the potential to fold into non-B-form structures, a characteristic of recombination hot spots. To test this hypothesis carbodiimide, osmium tetroxide and S$\sb1$ nuclease were used as single-strand specific probes to study a recombinant plasmid, pN6.4.39, containing a single L2Hs …
Characterization Of Two Temperature-Sensitive Mutants Of Escherichia Coli Exhibiting An Altered L22 Ribosomal Protein, Bonnie A. Burnette-Vick
Characterization Of Two Temperature-Sensitive Mutants Of Escherichia Coli Exhibiting An Altered L22 Ribosomal Protein, Bonnie A. Burnette-Vick
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Analysis of E. coli strains SK1047 and SK1048 have shown them to be temperature-sensitive, protein-synthesis deficient. An alteration in ribosomal protein L22 was detected in both strains using two dimensional gel electrophoresis. Protein L22 was purified from both strains by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography and from two dimensional electrophoretic gels. Purified ribosomal protein L22 was labeled by reductive methylation and used in 23S RNA binding assays with and without ribosomal protein L4. At the permissive temperature, protein L22 from SK1047 bound less efficiently than the control while protein L22 from SK1048 bound as efficiently as the control. At …