Biotechnology Commons^™

Development Of Suspended Particulate Matter Empirical Equation For Tropics Estuary From Landsat Etm+ Data, Razak Z, Zuhairi A, Shahbudin S, Rosnan Y

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) essentially related to the total scattering of particles in the water column. It plays the role as a transport medium for pollutants, total load of organic and inorganic substance in the water phase. In this study, we have developed empirical relationship based on a strong relationship between Landsat near infrared (NIR) band and archived SPM data. The following were the power equations:SPM NE (mg/l) = 11.68x0.666SPM SW (mg/l) = 18.61x0.493where, x (TM4) is radiance of ETM+ NIR band 4 was developed under tropical atmospheric conditions. Using the above equation, the SPM concentration for Northeast and Southwest …

Biodiesel Production From Castor Oil And Its Application In Diesel Engine, Ismail S, Abu S. A, Rezaur R, Sinin H

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

In this study, the optimum biodiesel conversion from crude castor oil to castor biodiesel (CB) through transesterification method was investigated. The base catalyzed transesterification under different reactant proportion such as the molar ratio of alcohol to oil and mass ratio of catalyst to oil was studied for optimum production of castor biodiesel. The optimum condition for base catalyzed transesterification of castor oil was determined to be 1:4.5 of oil to methanol ratio and 0.005:1 of potassium hydroxide to oil ratio. The fuel properties of the produced CB such as the calorific value, flash point and density were analyzed and compared …

Drivers And Barriers For Going Green: Perceptions From The Business Practitioners In Malaysia, Loke S-P, Khalizani K, Rohati S, Sayaka A

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The changes of global environmental conditions have placed great challenges to governments and societies. While it is not easy for the companies to go green, we need a renewed concern for our environment in order to revive the nation’s economic growth, social cohesion and ecological balances. This article identifies the drivers and barriers for the business industry to adopt green practices. A total of 571 business companies from the Perak State participated in this study. Four variables: (1) Regulations (β=0.159, p<0.05); (2) Social responsibility (β=0.201, p<0.05); (3) Pro-environmental organizational culture (β=0.389, p<0.01); and (4) Organizational supports (β=0.369, p<0.01) werefound to significantly affect the company’s green initiatives. The results indicated that the main internal barriers were: it lacked of financial resources (66.2%) and skilled staff (63.9%); whereas the main external barriers were: the penalty imposed were not severe enough for making any extra efforts (64.8%) and the penalty was light for violation of environmental regulations (63.2%). This research had implications for the academics, practitioners and policy makers. It provided greater insights into the green practices in Malaysian firms. The research findings also urged the local governments to greatly enhance regulatory scrutiny on the production and manufacturing industries.

Hypothesis Generation And Testing: A Template For Biomedical Research, Michael Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

This argument map provides a template for the testing of hypotheses in biomedical research. It can be used in science education to direct students' attention to all components that need to be clarified to justify a scientific hypothesis in a specific experimental setting, including the justification of appropriate sample sizes in experiments, determination of background theories, description of experimental design, data collection methods, significance level, etc. To use this template, go to http://agora.gatech.edu/, search for argument map 3363, and copy the map.

Design, Assessment, And In Vivo Evaluation Of A Computational Model Illustrating The Role Of Cav1 In Cd4+ T-Lymphocytes, Brittany D. Conroy, Tyler A. Herek, Timonthy D. Shew, Matthew Latner, Joshua J. Larson, Laura Allen, Paul H. Davis, Tomáš Helikar, Christine E. Cutucache

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is a vital scaffold protein heterogeneously expressed in both healthy and malignant tissue. We focus on the role of CAV1 when overexpressed in T-cell leukemia. Previously, we have shown that CAV1 is involved in cell-to-cell communication, cellular proliferation, and immune synapse formation; however, the molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated.We hypothesize that the role of CAV1 in immune synapse formation contributes to immune regulation during leukemic progression, thereby warranting studies of the role of CAV1 in CD4⁺ T-cells in relation to antigen-presenting cells. To address this need, we developed a computational model of a CD4⁺ immune …

Long-Acting Antituberculous Therapeutic Nanoparticles Target Macrophage Endosomes, Benson J. Edagwa, Dongwei Guo, Pavan Puligujja, Han Chen, Joellyn Mcmillan, Xinming Liu, Howard Gendelman, Prabagaran Narayanasamy

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Eradication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection requires daily administration of combinations of rifampin (RIF), isoniazid [isonicotinylhydrazine (INH)], pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, among other drug therapies. To facilitate and optimize MTB therapeutic selections, a mononuclear phagocyte (MP; monocyte, macrophage, and dendritic cell)-targeted drug delivery strategy was developed. Long-acting nanoformulations of RIF and an INH derivative, pentenyl- INH (INHP), were prepared, and their physicochemical properties were evaluated. This included the evaluation of MP particle uptake and retention, cell viability, and antimicrobial efficacy. Drug levels reached 6 μg/106 cells in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) for nanoparticle treatments compared with 0.1 μg/106 cells for native …

First Proof Of Concept Of Sustainable Metabolite Production From High Solids Fermentation Of Lignocellulosic Biomass Using A Bacterial Co-Culture And Cycling Flush System, Wanying Yao, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

To improve the lignocellulose conversion for ABE in high solids fermentation, this study explored the feasibility of cycling the process through the cellulolytic or/and solventogenic phases via intermittent flushing of the fermentation media. Five different flushing strategies (varying medium ingredients, inoculum supplement and cycling through phases) were investigated. Flushing regularly throughout the cellulolytic phase is necessary because re-incubation at 65 °C significantly improved glucose availability by at least 6-fold. The solvents accumulation was increased by 4-fold using corn stover (3-fold using miscanthus) over that produced by flushing only through the solventogenic phase. In addition, cycling process was simplified by re-incubating …

Evaluation Of The Over-Expression Of A Miscanthus X Giganteus Ppdk (C4ppdk1) In Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum) For Improved Cold Temperature C4 Photosynthesis, Mathew Christian Halter

Masters Theses

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been proposed as a potential biofuel feedstock to aid in the displacement of petroleum-based combustible fuels over the course of the next several decades. Improving the yield potential of this perennial grass is therefore of economic interest. Increased net ethanol yields can be achieved in cellulosic feedstocks via two means: 1. Improved sugar release from digestible cell wall materials, 2. Increased overall biomass yield. The latter is the subject of this study.

As a C4 photosynthetic plant, switchgrass is highly productive in the hot, humid climate of the southeastern United States. By bypassing the …

Protein Body Biogenesis And Utility In Recombinant Protein Production In Nicotiana Benthamiana, Reza Saberianfar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Protein bodies (PBs) are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) derived organelles found in seeds whose function is to accumulate seed storage proteins. It was shown that PB formation is not limited to seeds, and green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to either elastin-like polypeptide (ELP), hydrophobin-I (HFBI) or Zera^® fusion tags induces PBs in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. The mechanism by which fusion tags induce PBs is not well understood. To address how PBs form and develop in plant leaves, I studied the factors involved in their formation including recombinant protein concentration, effect of the fusion tags, PB sequestration patterns and …

Variability Of Vitamins B1, B2 And Minerals Content In Baobab (Adansonia Digitata) Leaves In East And West Africa, Hyacinthe Traore, Charles Parkouda, Adama Korbo, Diarra Compaoré/Sérémé, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Jan J. Svejgaard, Bréhima Diawara

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

The regional variability and age-age correlation on vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and minerals (Ca, Mg, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, Na, and Zn) concentration in baobab leaves were investigated. Baobab was cultivated from seeds from 11 african countries. Vitamins B1 and B2 content were assessed using microbiological VitaFast kits methods and minerals by atomic absorption and flame spectrometry methods. Overall, the results showed a higher content of vitamin B2 compared to vitamin B1 with the highest vitamin B2 content (1.04 +- 0.05 mg/100 g DM) from Senegal. The highest iron (Fe) content of 26.39 mg/100 g was found in baobab …

Engineering Surface Functionality Of Nanoparticles For Biological Applications, Yi-Cheun Yeh

Doctoral Dissertations

Engineering the surface functionality of nanomaterials is the key to investigate the interactions between nanomaterials and biomolecules for potent biological applications such as therapy, imaging and diagnostics. My research has been orientted to engineer both of the surface monolayers and core materials to fabricate surface-functionalized nanomaterials through the synergistic multidisciplinary approach that combine organic chemistry, materials science and biology. This thesis illustrates the design and synthesis of the surface-funcitonalized quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the fundamental studies and practical applications. For QDs, A new class of cationic QDs with quaternary ammonium derivatives was synthesized to provide permanent …

The Complexity Of Molecular Interactions And Bindings Between Cyclic Peptide And Inhibit Polymerase A And B1 (Pac-Pb1n) H1n1, Arli A. Parikesit, Harry Noviardi Hn, Djati Kerami Dk, Usman Sumo Friend Tambunan Usft

Arli A Parikesit

The influenza/H1N1 virus has caused hazard in the public health of many countries. Hence, existing influenza drugs could not cope with H1N1 infection due to the high mutation rate of the virus. In this respect, new method to block the virus was devised. The polymerase pac-pb1n enzyme is responsible for the replication of H1N1 virus. Thus, novel inhibitors were developed to ward off the functionality of the enzyme. In this research, cyclic peptides has been chosen to inhibit PAc-PB1n due to its proven stability in reaching the drug target. Thus, computational method for elucidating the molecular interaction between cyclic peptides …

Understanding The Transcriptional Regulation Of Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis In The Model Grass Brachypodium Distachyon, Pubudu Handakumbura

Doctoral Dissertations

Secondary cell wall synthesis occurs in specialized cell types following completion of cell enlargement. By virtue of mechanical strength provided by a wall thickened with cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, these cells can function as water-conducting vessels and provide structural support. Several transcription factor families regulate genes encoding wall synthesis enzymes. Certain NAC and MYB proteins directly bind upstream of structural genes and other transcription factors. The most detailed model of this regulatory network is established predominantly for a eudicot, Arabidopsis thaliana. In grasses, both the patterning and the composition of secondary cell walls are distinct from that of eudicots. …

Movement Effects On The Flow Physics And Nutrient Delivery In Engineered Valvular Tissues, Manuel Salinas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mechanical conditioning has been shown to promote tissue formation in a wide variety of tissue engineering efforts. However the underlying mechanisms by which external mechanical stimuli regulate cells and tissues are not known. This is particularly relevant in the area of heart valve tissue engineering (HVTE) owing to the intense hemodynamic environments that surround native valves. Some studies suggest that oscillatory shear stress (OSS) caused by steady flow and scaffold flexure play a critical role in engineered tissue formation derived from bone marrow derived stem cells (BMSCs). In addition, scaffold flexure may enhance nutrient (e.g. oxygen, glucose) transport. In this …

Atomic, Crystalline And Powder Characteristics Of Treated Zirconia And Silica Powders, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Zirconium oxide and silicon dioxide powders are selected and subjected to a non-contact Biofield energy known to be transmitted by Mahendra Kumar Trivedi. Particle sizes d50 and d99 showed up to 71.5 percent decrease indicating that the energy had caused deformation and fracture as if the powders have been subjected to high energy milling. This is also supported by increase in specific surface area up to 19.48 percent. In the present investigation Zirconium oxide and silicon dioxide powders are exposed to Bio-field. Both the exposed and unexposed powders are later characterized by various techniques. The treated powders when characterized by …

Comparative Studies Of Oleaginous Fungal Strains (Mucor Circinelloides And Trichoderma Reesei) For Effective Wastewater Treatment And Bio-Oil Production, Anshuman Bhanja, Gauri P. Minde, Sandip S. Magdum, Kalyanraman V.

Sandip S. Magdum

Biological wastewater treatment typically requires the use of bacteria for degradation of carbonaceous and nitrogenous compounds present in wastewater. The high lipid containing biomass can be used to extract oil and the contents can be termed as bio-oil (or biodiesel or myco-diesel after transesterification). The separate experiments were conducted on actual wastewater samples with 5% v/v inoculum of Mucor circinelloides MTCC1297 and Trichoderma reesei NCIM992 strains. The observed reductions in chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 88.72% and 86.75% in 96 hrs and the observed substrate based biomass yields were 0.21 mg VSS/mg COD and 0.22 mg VSS/mg COD for M. …

Intercellular Cooperation And Competition In Brain Cancers: Lessons From Drosophila And Human Studies, Indrayani Waghmare, Austin Roebke, Mutsuko Minata, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Ichiro Nakano

Biology Faculty Publications

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a primary brain cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. GBM tumors contain heterogeneous cellular components, including a small subpopulation of tumor cells termed glioma stem cells (GSCs). GSCs are characterized as chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-resistant cells with prominent tumorigenic ability. Studies in Drosophila cancer models demonstrated that interclonal cooperation and signaling from apoptotic clones provokes aggressive growth of neighboring tumorigenic clones, via compensatory proliferation or apoptosis induced proliferation. Mechanistically, these aggressive tumors depend on activation of Jun-N-terminal kinase (upstream of c-JUN), and Drosophila Wnt (Wg) in the apoptotic clones. Consistent with these nonmammalian studies, data from several mammalian …

The Exometabolome Of Clostridium Thermocellum Reveals Overflow Metabolism At High Cellulose Loading, Evert K. Holwerda, Philip G. Thorne, Daniel G. Olson, Daniel Amador-Noguez, Nancy L. Engle, Timothy J. Tschaplinski, Johannes P. Van Dijken, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

BackgroundClostridium thermocellum is a model thermophilic organism for the production of biofuels from lignocellulosic substrates. The majority of publications studying the physiology of this organism use substrate concentrations of ≤10 g/L. However, industrially relevant concentrations of substrate start at 100 g/L carbohydrate, which corresponds to approximately 150 g/L solids. To gain insight into the physiology of fermentation of high substrate concentrations, we studied the growth on, and utilization of high concentrations of crystalline cellulose varying from 50 to 100 g/L by C. thermocellum. .

Overexpression Of Patatin-Related Phospholipase Aiiiβ Altered The Content And Composition Of Sphingolipids In Arabidopsis, Maoyin Li, Jennifer E. Markham, Xuemin Wang

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

In plants, fatty acids are primarily synthesized in plastids and then transported to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for synthesis of most of the complex membrane lipids, including glycerolipids and sphingolipids. The first step of sphingolipid synthesis, which uses a fatty acid and a serine as substrates, is critical for sphingolipid homeostasis; its disruption leads to an altered plant growth. Phospholipase As have been implicated in the trafficking of fatty acids from plastids to the ER. Previously, we found that overexpression of a patatin-related phospholipase, pPLAIIIβ, resulted in a smaller plant size and altered anisotropic cell expansion. Here, we determined the …

Enhanced Expression Of Codon Optimized Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis Antigens In Lactobacillus Salivarius, Christopher D. Johnston, John P. Bannatine, Rodney Govender, Lorraine Endersen, Daniel Pletzer, Helge Weingart, Aidan Coffey, Jim O'Mahony, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

It is well documented that open reading frames containing high GC content show poor expression in A+T rich hosts. Specifically, G+C-rich codon usage is a limiting factor in heterologous expression of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) proteins using Lactobacillus salivarius. However, re-engineering opening reading frames through synonymous substitutions can offset codon bias and greatly enhance MAP protein production in this host. In this report, we demonstrate that codon-usage manipulation of MAP2121c can enhance the heterologous expression of the major membrane protein (MMP), analogous to the form in which it is produced natively by MAP bacilli. When heterologously over-expressed, antigenic determinants …

Virus-Host Mucosal Interactions During Early Siv Rectal Transmission, Wuxun Lu, Fangrui Ma, Alexander Churbanov, Yanmin Wan, Yue Li, Guobin Kang, Zhe Yuan, Dong Wang, Chi Zhang, Jianqing Xu, Mark Lewis, Qingsheng Li

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

To deepen our understanding of early rectal transmission of HIV-1, we studied virus-host interactions in the rectal mucosa using simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-Indian rhesus macaque model and mRNA deep sequencing. We found that rectal mucosa actively responded to SIV as early as 3 days post-rectal inoculation (dpi) and mobilized more robust responses at 6 and 10 dpi. Our results suggests that the failure of the host to contain virus replication at the portal of entry is attributable to both a high-level expression of lymphocyte chemoattractant, proinflammatory and immune activation genes, which can recruit and activate viral susceptible target cells into …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Biological Boolean Networks Using Information Fusion Based On Nonadditive Set Functions, Naomi Kochi, Tomáš Helikar, Laura Allen, Jim A. Rogers, Zhenyuan Wang, Mihaela T. Matache

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Background: An algebraic method for information fusion based on nonadditive set functions is used to assess the joint contribution of Boolean network attributes to the sensitivity of the network to individual node mutations. The node attributes or characteristics under consideration are: in-degree, out-degree, minimum and average path lengths, bias, average sensitivity of Boolean functions, and canalizing degrees. The impact of node mutations is assessed using as target measure the average Hamming distance between a non-mutated/wild-type network and a mutated network.

Results: We find that for a biochemical signal transduction network consisting of several main signaling pathways whose nodes …

Use Of Cysteine-Reactive Crosslinkers To Probe Conformational Flexibility Of Human Dj-1 Demonstrates That Glu18 Mutations Are Dimers, Janani Prahlad, David N. Hauser, Nicole M. Milkovic, Mark R. Cookson, Mark A. Wilson

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The oxidation of a key cysteine residue (Cys106) in the parkinsonism-associated protein DJ-1 regulates its ability to protect against oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Cys106 interacts with a neighboring protonated Glu18 residue, stabilizing the Cys106-SO₂ ⁻ (sulfinic acid) form of DJ-1. To study this important post-translational modification, we previously designed several Glu18 mutations (E18N, E18D, E18Q) that alter the oxidative propensity of Cys106. However, recent results suggest these Glu18 mutations cause loss of DJ-1 dimerization, which would severely compromise the protein’s function. The purpose of this study was to conclusively determine the oligomerization state of these mutants using X-ray …

Quest: Creating A Biotechnology Workforce Pipeline, Lynette Hazleton Mph

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Identification And Characterization Of Cysteine Protease Genes In Tobacco For Use In Recombinant Protein Production, Kishor Duwadi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Plants are an attractive host system for pharmaceutical protein production. Many therapeutic proteins have been produced and scaled up in plants at a low cost compared to the conventional microbial and animal based systems. The main technical challenge during this process is to produce sufficient level of proteins in plants. Low yield is generally caused by proteolytic degradation during expression and downstream processing of recombinant proteins. The yield of a human therapeutic protein interleukin (IL) -10 produced in transgenic tobacco leaves was found to be below the critical level, and is potentially due to degradation by tobacco cysteine proteases (CysPs). …

Individual Characteristics And Their Effect On Predicting Mu Rhythm Modulation, Adriane Randolph, Melody Jackson, Saurav Karmakar

Adriane B. Randolph

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer users with severe motor disabilities a nonmuscular input channel for communication and control but require that users achieve a level of literacy and be able to harness their appropriate electrophysiological responses for effective use of the interface. There is currently no formalized process for determining a user's aptitude for control of various BCIs without testing on an actual system. This study presents how basic information captured about users may be used to predict modulation of mu rhythms, electrical variations in the motor cortex region of the brain that may be used for control of a BCI. …

Synthesis And Applications Of Mutimodal Hybrid Albumin Nanoparticles For Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery And Phototherml Therapy Platforms, Donna V. Peralta

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Progress has been made in using human serum albumin nanoparticles (HSAPs) as carrier systems for targeted treatment of cancer. Human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant human blood protein, can form HSAPs via a desolvation and crosslinking method, with the size of the HSAPs having crucial importance for drug loading and in vivo performance. Gold nanoparticles have also gained medicinal attention due to their ability to absorb near-infrared (NIR) light. These relatively non-toxic particles offer combinational therapy via imaging and photothermal therapy (PPTT) capabilities.

A desolvation and crosslinking approach was employed to encapsulate gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), hollow gold nanoshells (AuNSs), …

Cryopreservation Of Hepatocyte (Hepg2) Cell Monolayers: Impact Of Trehalose, Blake Stokich, Quinn Osgood, David Grimm, Shhyam Moorthy, Nilay Chakraborty, Michael A. Menze

Michael Menze

A simple method to cryogenically preserve hepatocyte monolayers is currently not available but such a technique would facilitate numerous applications in the field of biomedical engineering, cell line development, and drug screening. We investigated the effect of trehalose and dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) in cryopreservation of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells in suspension and monolayer formats. HepG2 cell monolayers were incubated for 24 h at varying concentrations of trehalose (50–150 mM) prior to cryopreservation to identify the optimum concentration for such preincubation. When trehalose alone was used as the cryoprotective agent (CPA), cells in monolayer format did not survive freezing while …

Cryopreservation Of Hepatocyte (Hepg2) Cell Monolayers: Impact Of Trehalose, Blake Stokich, Quinn Osgood, David Grimm, Shhyam Moorthy, Nilay Chakraborty, Michael A. Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A simple method to cryogenically preserve hepatocyte monolayers is currently not available but such a technique would facilitate numerous applications in the field of biomedical engineering, cell line development, and drug screening. We investigated the effect of trehalose and dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) in cryopreservation of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells in suspension and monolayer formats. HepG2 cell monolayers were incubated for 24 h at varying concentrations of trehalose (50–150 mM) prior to cryopreservation to identify the optimum concentration for such preincubation. When trehalose alone was used as the cryoprotective agent (CPA), cells in monolayer format did not survive freezing while …

Cryopreservation Of Hepatocyte (Hepg2) Cell Monolayers: Impact Of Trehalose, Blake Stokich, Quinn Osgood, David Grimm, Shhyam Moorthy, Nilay Chakraborty, Michael Menze

Faculty Scholarship

A simple method to cryogenically preserve hepatocyte monolayers is currently not available but such a technique would facilitate numerous applications in the field of biomedical engineering, cell line development, and drug screening. We investigated the effect of trehalose and dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) in cryopreservation of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells in suspension and monolayer formats. HepG2 cell monolayers were incubated for 24 h at varying concentrations of trehalose (50–150 mM) prior to cryopreservation to identify the optimum concentration for such preincubation. When trehalose alone was used as the cryoprotective agent (CPA), cells in monolayer format did not survive freezing while …