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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Chemistry

2014

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Pure sciences

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Monitoring Citrus Nutrition In The Rio Grande Valley For Fertilizer Recommendations, Iram Lopez May 2014

Monitoring Citrus Nutrition In The Rio Grande Valley For Fertilizer Recommendations, Iram Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Soil fertility and plant nutrition is crucial for a better yield and consistent harvest in the Rio Grande Valley for local farmers growing citrus trees. A field of oranges and a field of grapefruits were monitored and nutrition deficiencies were noticed that played an important role during fruit set. Soil samples that were taken throughout the year were analyzed via a carbon dioxide extraction method that mimics the way plants naturally take up nutrients or extract nutrients from every soil type. Macronutrients such as the N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg and some of the micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn, and …


Cloning And Characterization Of Ef-Tu And Ef-Ts From Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Carlos Eduardo Rivera May 2014

Cloning And Characterization Of Ef-Tu And Ef-Ts From Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Carlos Eduardo Rivera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Antibiotic resistance is a prevalent threat to public health around the world, and resistance among strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae is growing rapidly. This increasing resistance elevates the demand for new drug discoveries. This research attempts to develop a means to combat S. pneumoniae by targeting protein synthesis for the discovery of new antibacterial agents. Protein synthesis components, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts) facilitate many steps in the biosynthesis of proteins and are therefore essential proteins involved in protein synthesis. EF-Tu and EF-Ts were cloned, expressed, purified, and enzymatically characterized to help develop a screening system that …


Metal Oxide Nanostructures For Energy Conversion And Storage, Xing Sun May 2014

Metal Oxide Nanostructures For Energy Conversion And Storage, Xing Sun

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

With the depletion of non-renewable resources and the related problems such as environmental pollutions and global warming effect, the society urgently needs more efficient and controllable energy conversion and storage systems. Three-dimensional ZnO nanoforests were prepared and morphology-tunable, which benefits both of energy conversion and storage systems. Willow-like ZnO nanoforests led the highest conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting in reported pure ZnO nanostructures. Compared with nanowire arrays, ZnO@MnO2 nanoforests delivered 5 times higher specific capacitances within the same footprint area. V2O5@PPy exhibited higher specific capacitance and better rate stability than pure V2O5 nanofibers. This work lays the foundation for …


A Screening Platform For Identification Of Compounds That Inhibit Protein Synthesis In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Yanmei Hu May 2014

A Screening Platform For Identification Of Compounds That Inhibit Protein Synthesis In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Yanmei Hu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria and a common cause of nosocomial infections. This pathogen has recently garnered attention due to its pan-resistance. We have developed a poly(U) mRNA-directed aminoacylation/translation (A/T) protein synthesis system from P. aeruginosa. The concentration of each component of the system has been arrived at through multiple rounds of optimization. Poly-phenylalanine synthesis in the system was monitored using scintillation proximity assays (SPA). This system has been used to screen two natural compound libraries (>1100) and a number of the compounds that inhibit greater than 50% of the activity of the system have been identified. …