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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

High Order Structures Formed By The Natural Aromatic Amino Acids, Gabriel Alexander Kupovics, Zeina Alraawi Jan 2023

High Order Structures Formed By The Natural Aromatic Amino Acids, Gabriel Alexander Kupovics, Zeina Alraawi

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Excessive concentrations of the natural aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine are characteristic of the severe genetic abnormalities known as phenylketonuria (PKU) and tyrosinemia, respectively. Within this context, this feature article authenticates claims that tryptophan can form amyloid-like supramolecular structures in vitro and is the first to propose potential mechanisms of tryptophan self-assembly, including hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence kinetics and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data suggest the formation of amyloid-like fibrillar structures by natural aromatic amino acids in vitro. Additionally, the propensity of amino acid aggregation increases in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The …


Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson, Fiona Goggin Jan 2022

Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson, Fiona Goggin

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) – endogenous chains of amino acids involved in natural plant defense – have been shown to decrease damage from herbivores and pathogens by inducing an immune response, increasing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCS), transcripts, and metabolites. Exogenous treatment of soybean seeds with plant elicitor peptide GmPep3 has been shown to induce these broad-spectrum defenses and offers a new method for increasing crop yield. However, the effects of GmPep3 on indicators of soybean health – root characteristics, growth stages, etc. – have not been fully realized. Using the root-phenotyping platform RhizoVision Explorer, several root traits …


Physical Characteristics And Classification Of The Large Amplitude Variable Star V1719 Cygni, Ashley Lieber, Logan Siems, Julia Kennefick, Michael Fitzgerald Jan 2022

Physical Characteristics And Classification Of The Large Amplitude Variable Star V1719 Cygni, Ashley Lieber, Logan Siems, Julia Kennefick, Michael Fitzgerald

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Pulsating stars are used as standard candles which are helpful in determining distances to stellar objects along with the relationship between their period and apparent luminosity. The focus of this study was the variable star, V1719 Cygni, which is often classified as a Delta (δ) Scuti star, but there exists debate that it should be classified as a RR Lyrae star due to its abnormal light curve and similar characteristics between the two variable star categories. Observational data was taken in 2019 using the Las Cumbres Observatory international telescope network. The resulting data were calibrated using comparison stars in the …


Artificial Intelligence System For Automatic Imaging, Quantification, And Identification Of Arthropods In Leaf Litter And Pitfall Samples, Pierce Helton, Khoa Luu, Ashley Dowling Jan 2022

Artificial Intelligence System For Automatic Imaging, Quantification, And Identification Of Arthropods In Leaf Litter And Pitfall Samples, Pierce Helton, Khoa Luu, Ashley Dowling

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

It is well known that arthropods are the most diverse and abundant eukaryotic organisms on the planet. Museum and research collections have huge insect accumulations from expeditions conducted over history that contain specimens of both temporal and spatial value, including hundreds of thousands of species. This biodiversity data is inaccessible to the research community, resulting in a vast amount of “dark data”. The primary objective of this study is to develop an artificial intelligence-driven system for specimen identification that greatly minimizes the time and expertise required to identify specimens in atypical environments. Successful development will have profound impacts on both …


Computational Study Of A Novel Dinuclear Metal Complex, Dragos Seghete Jan 2005

Computational Study Of A Novel Dinuclear Metal Complex, Dragos Seghete

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The first compound containing an M-H-M was recently reported by Vicic et al. With recent availability of large computational resources, molecular modeling has become a reliable tool for confirming experimental results. The novel dinuclear Ni complex [( dippm)2Ni2Br2]( 0 -H) was investigated in this work from a theoretical perspective. Full geometry optimization was carried on the dinuclear Ni complex at the DFT/B3LYP with the 6-31G* basis set. The result verifies the linear Ni-H-Ni bond. Two different starting structures that converged to the same geometry confirm that a global minimum was reached. The computed structure differs from the experimentally determined one …