Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Halogen Bonding: A Computational Chemistry Investigation Of The Interaction Between Thyroid Hormone And Deiodinase, William Rice
Halogen Bonding: A Computational Chemistry Investigation Of The Interaction Between Thyroid Hormone And Deiodinase, William Rice
Honors Theses
Halogen bonding is a noncovalent interaction that continues to garner interest among the scientific community. Investigation of halogen bonds in biological contexts typically revolves around rational drug design for developing therapeutics. However, halogen bonding may be occurring naturally in our body every day. Thyroid hormone and its regulating enzyme, iodothyronine deiodinase, show promising results for a halogen bonding interaction that happens during catalysis. Prior work has examined the interaction between the iodine of thyroid hormone and the selenium of iodothyronine deiodinase. However, this study is the first of its kind to use computational chemistry methods to analyze the halogen bond …
Computational Studies Of Paradifluorobenzene Cations And Hydrogen Cyanide Molecule, John C. Rowe Iv
Computational Studies Of Paradifluorobenzene Cations And Hydrogen Cyanide Molecule, John C. Rowe Iv
Honors Theses
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hypothesized to comprise a significant portion of interstellar carbon identified from the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs). Gas phase cation-molecule reactions between compounds that previously existed as weakly bound species provides the best explanation for the emergence of PAHs in the interstellar medium (ISM). In this work, we use computational methods to characterize one of these weakly-bound systems. We discovered that intramolecular charge distribution (calculated using the Natural Population Analysis) dictate the complexes formed between a paradifluorobenzene cation and either one or two HCN molecules. Additionally, the relative stabilities of the complexes and the binding energies …
Characterization Of Catecholamine Receptors And Transporters In Murine Macrophages, Elizabeth Gonye
Characterization Of Catecholamine Receptors And Transporters In Murine Macrophages, Elizabeth Gonye
Honors Theses
Macrophages are a critical part of the immune response. When circulating monocytes move into tissues they differentiate int macrophages to mount the first line of defense against pathogens.
Impact Of Vector Range Expansion On Pathogen Transmission Dynamics Of Lyme Disease In Southwestern Virginia, Bishan Bhattarai
Impact Of Vector Range Expansion On Pathogen Transmission Dynamics Of Lyme Disease In Southwestern Virginia, Bishan Bhattarai
Honors Theses
Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of Lyme disease in eastern United States. Borrelia Burgdorfei, the etiological agent of Lyme disease is transferred by ticks of Ixodes species. In recent years, its congener, Ixodes affinis has been expanding its range northwards from its southern population. We were interested in studying how the introduction of this new vector affected the interaction between the pathogen genotype and the host. We hypothesized that differential host use by I. affinis and I. scapularis would partly explain observed differences in B. burgdorferi infection prevalence and genotypic structure in southeastern Virginia. The result …