Life Sciences Commons^™

Polyrad -- Protection Against Free Radical Damage, Hannah Kim, Yin Tse, Andrew Webb, Ethan Mudd, Muhammad Raisul Abedin, Melanie R. Mormile, Subhadeep Dutta, Kaushal Rege, Sutapa Barua

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effects of elevated levels of radiation contribute to the instability of pharmaceutical formulations in space compared to those on earth. Existing technologies are ineffective at maintaining the therapeutic efficacies of drugs in space. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel space-hardy formulations for preserving the stability and efficacy of drug formulations. This work aims to develop a novel approach for the protection of space pharmaceutical drug molecules from the radiation-induced damage to help extend or at least preserve their structural integrity and potency. To achieve this, free radical scavenging antioxidant, Trolox was conjugated on the surface of …

Modeling The Load Of Sars-Cov-2 Virus In Human Expelled Particles During Coughing And Speaking, Yang Wang, Guang Xu, Yue-Wern Huang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Particle size is an essential factor when considering the fate and transport of virus-containing droplets expelled by human, because it determines the deposition pattern in the human respiratory system and the evolution of droplets by evaporation and gravitational settling. However, the evolution of virus-containing droplets and the size-dependent viral load have not been studied in detail. The lack of this information leads to uncertainties in understanding the airborne transmission of respiratory diseases, such as the COVID-19. In this study, through a set of differential equations describing the evolution of respiratory droplets and by using the SARS-CoV-2 virus as an example, …

Student Preclass Preparation By Both Reading The Textbook And Watching Videos Online Improves Exam Performance In A Partially Flipped Course, Kaleb Bassett, Gayla R. Olbricht, Katie Shannon

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The flipped classroom has the potential to improve student performance. Because flipping involves both preclass preparation and problem solving in the classroom, the means by which increased learning occurs and whether the method of delivering content matters is of interest. In a partially flipped cell biology course, students were assigned online videos before the flipped class and textbook reading before lectures. Low-stakes assessments were used to incentivize both types of preclass preparation. We hypothesized that more students would watch the videos than read the textbook and that both types of preparation would positively affect exam performance. A multiple linear regression …

Explicit Representation Of Protein Activity States Significantly Improves Causal Discovery Of Protein Phosphorylation Networks, Jinling Liu, Xiaojun Ma, Gregory F. Cooper, Xinghua Lu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Protein phosphorylation networks play an important role in cell signaling. In these networks, phosphorylation of a protein kinase usually leads to its activation, which in turn will phosphorylate its downstream target proteins. A phosphorylation network is essentially a causal network, which can be learned by causal inference algorithms. Prior efforts have applied such algorithms to data measuring protein phosphorylation levels, assuming that the phosphorylation levels represent protein activity states. However, the phosphorylation status of a kinase does not always reflect its activity state, because interventions such as inhibitors or mutations can directly affect its activity state without changing its …

Status Of The Blackstripe (Fundulus Notatus) And Blackspotted (F. Olivaceus) Topminnows In The Ozark Uplands Of Central Missouri, Nathaniel Steffensmeier, Naznin Sultana Remex, Robert Hrabik, David D. Duvernell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The topminnow species Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus have broadly overlapping geographic distributions that extend throughout much of the central and southern United States. In the northern portion of their respective ranges, in Missouri, the regional distributions of the two species coincide largely with recognized ecoregions. In the unglaciated southern half of Missouri, F. olivaceus is distributed throughout Ozark upland habitats while F. notatus is abundant in marginal large river and prairie habitats along the Ozark borders. An exception to this partitioning is the historical report of abundant F. notatus in the Bourbeuse and upper Meramec River drainages within the …

Characterization Of The Is200/Is605 Insertion Sequence Family In Halanaerobium Hydrogeniformans, Michael Sadler, Melanie R. Mormile, Ronald L. Frank

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mobile DNA elements play a significant evolutionary role by promoting genome plasticity. Insertion sequences are the smallest prokaryotic transposable elements. They are highly diverse elements, and the ability to accurately identify, annotate, and infer the full genomic impact of insertion sequences is lacking. Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans is a haloalkaliphilic bacterium with an abnormally high number of insertion sequences. One family, IS200/IS605, showed several interesting features distinct from other elements in this genome. Twenty-three loci harbor elements of this family in varying stages of decay, from nearly intact to an ends-only sequence. The loci were characterized with respect to two divergent open …

3d-Printed Biomimetic Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For Bone Regeneration In Rat Calvarial Defects, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Yue-Wern Huang, Julie A. Semon, Ming-Chuan Leu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The pore geometry of scaffold intended for the use in the bone repair or replacement is one of the most important parameters in bone tissue engineering. It affects not only the mechanical properties of the scaffold but also the amount of bone regeneration after implantation. Scaffolds with five different architectures (cubic, spherical, x, gyroid, and diamond) at different porosities were fabricated with bioactive borate glass using the selective laser sintering (SLS) process. The compressive strength of scaffolds with porosities ranging from 60% to 30% varied from 1.7 to 15.5 MPa. The scaffold's compressive strength decreased significantly (up to 90%) after …

Assessing Field-Scale Risks Of Foliar Insecticide Applications To Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Larvae, Niranjana Krishnan, Yang Zhang, Keith G. Bidne, Richard L. Hellmich, Joel R. Coats, Steven P. Bradbury

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Establishment and maintenance of milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.) in agricultural landscapes of the north central United States are needed to reverse the decline of North America's eastern monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population. Because of a lack of toxicity data, it is unclear how insecticide use may reduce monarch productivity when milkweed habitat is placed near maize and soybean fields. To assess the potential effects of foliar insecticides, acute cuticular and dietary toxicity of 5 representative active ingredients were determined: beta-cyfluthrin (pyrethroid), chlorantraniliprole (anthranilic diamide), chlorpyrifos (organophosphate), and imidacloprid and thiamethoxam (neonicotinoids). Cuticular median lethal dose values for …

Cytotoxicity Of Nio And Ni(Oh)₂ Nanoparticles Is Mediated By Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death And Suppression Of Cell Proliferation, Melissa H. Cambre, Natalie J. Holl, Yue-Wern Huang, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The use of nanomaterial-based products continues to grow with advancing technology. Understanding the potential toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) is important to ensure that products containing them do not impose harmful effects to human or environmental health. In this study, we evaluated the comparative cytotoxicity between nickel oxide (NiO) and nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)₂) in human bronchoalveolar carcinoma (A549) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. Cellular viability studies revealed cell line-specific cytotoxicity in which nickel NPs were toxic to A549 cells but relatively nontoxic to HepG2 cells. Time-, concentration-, and particle-specific cytotoxicity was observed in A549 cells. NP-induced oxidative …

Differential Cytotoxicity Induced By Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Is A Function Of Cell Killing And Suppression Of Cell Proliferation, Larry M. Tolliver, Natalie J. Holl, Fang Yao Stephen Hou, Han-Jung Lee, Melissa H. Cambre, Yue-Wern Huang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The application of nanoparticles (NPs) in industry is on the rise, along with the potential for human exposure. While the toxicity of microscale equivalents has been studied, nanoscale materials exhibit different properties and bodily uptake, which limits the prediction ability of microscale models. Here, we examine the cytotoxicity of seven transition metal oxide NPs in the fourth period of the periodic table of the chemical elements. We hypothesized that NP-mediated cytotoxicity is a function of cell killing and suppression of cell proliferation. To test our hypothesis, transition metal oxide NPs were tested in a human lung cancer cell model (A549). …

Tools To Evaluate Nanodiamond-Mediated Delivery Of Tiopronin For Cataract Prevention, Justin Beltz

Doctoral Dissertations

”There is a growing demand for non-surgical means of cataract treatment. This dissertation presents three bodies of work that reflect the early-stage development of eye drop formulations aimed at delaying cataract progression. These formulations consist of the antioxidant 2-mercaptopropionylglycine (MPG) loaded onto nanodiamond particles.

Cataractogenesis is linked to oxidative damage to lens proteins. To investigate the potential of MPG for protection against oxidative damage, A549 cells were incubated in 0.6 mM tert-butylhydroperoxide (tBHP). Cells exposed to tBHP without MPG exhibited elevated levels of reactive oxygen species, which led to the depletion of the vital antioxidant glutathione and, ultimately, apoptosis. Co-administration …

Therapeutic Dna: Delivery And As A Delivery Vehicle, Natalie J. Holl

Masters Theses

"A review of gene delivery methods and gene editing methods, as well as original research utilizing DNA as a delivery vehicle is presented in the following thesis. Thousands of diseases have been linked to genes. Gene therapy, either delivering therapeutic genes or editing DNA bases, has arisen as a treatment option with the potential to cure diseases, rather than just ease symptoms. Genes and editing tools need to be delivered to cells for these therapies to be effective and many techniques have been developed to address the issue of delivery. Nonviral and viral methods have been used to deliver nucleic …

Aquatic Plants And Their Application To Successful Floating Treatment Wetlands, Katherine May Mazanec

Masters Theses

“This research aims to mitigate eutrophication of freshwater habitats affected by urban stormwater runoff. Two highly impacted urban ponds near the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla were the focus of this research on the application of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs). An FTW consists of a man-made floating mat that is planted with emergent or floating macrophytes. The plants grow on the mat and their roots extend into the water column below the mat. Plant tissues, especially roots in direct contact with the water, take up nutrients, act as biofilm growth sites, and may facilitate precipitation of nutrients. With urbanization, ponds …

Evaluation Of The Symbiotic Relation Between Endophyte And Poplar Trees Exposed To Landfill Leachate, Catalina Vega Hurtado

Masters Theses

“The contamination of soil and groundwater from leachate leakage from landfill has turned, nowadays, into a global public issue. One of the main concerns about this pollutant is the potential threat to human and ecosystem health. The current research studied endophyte bacteria in association with poplar trees (Populus sp.), as a method of bioremediation of landfill leachates. The objective of the project was to identify treatment strategies that may improve plant performance (survival rates, plant fitness, and degradation efficacy) with the purpose of being implemented in phytoremediation plots, aimed to intercept and treat landfill leachate, before the contamination of watershed. …

Link Between Energy Investment In Biosynthesis And Cellular Resistance To Oxidative Insult: Test The Cost-Quality Hypothesis In Insects, Taiwo Bolanle Iromini

Masters Theses

“The metabolic cost of growth is the amount of energy invested to fuel the anabolic biochemical reactions of biosynthesis. It has been implicated in the efficiency of farm animals and fishes, thus, increased economic profit. The metabolic cost of growth in the cockroach nymph was reported to be 20-fold higher than that of the painted lady butterfly caterpillar. The cost-quality hypothesis was proposed to explain the extremely low biosynthesis energy cost in painted lady caterpillar when physiological and ecological processes the metabolic growth cost was attributed to could not. In this study, the cost-quality hypothesis was tested.

Midgut cells were …