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Steady-State Transmembrane Water Exchange In Proliferating Cultures Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Joseph O'Malley Armstrong

Dissertations and Theses

Cellular water exchange is often considered in terms of a change in volume, where a net flux of water moves across the cell membrane due to a change in osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure can cause a cell to shrink or swell, however, rapid water exchange persists across the membrane even when the volume of the cell is constant. Steady-state transmembrane water exchange describes the exchange of water across the cell membranes which results in no net change in cell volume. This exchange is astonishingly rapid; the entire pool of intracellular water of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell may exchange 2-5 times …

Effects Of Environmental Change On Ancestral Pueblo Fishing In The Middle Rio Grande, Jonathan William Dombrosky

Anthropology ETDs

It has long been assumed that fishes were unimportant in the diet of past Pueblo people in the U.S. Southwest. Yet, small numbers of fish remains are consistently recovered from Late pre-Hispanic/Early Historic archaeological sites in the Middle Rio Grande of New Mexico. The end of drought conditions may have impacted food choice and fishing decisions during this time. I use behavioral ecology to understand how fishing could have been an optimal food-getting strategy for Ancestral Pueblo farmers. Stable isotope analysis offers a way to account for environmental change. I provide a refined ¹³C Suess correction model to support …

Beyond Structural Motifs: The Frontier Of Actinide-Containing Metal–Organic Frameworks, Corey R. Martin, Gabrielle A. Leith, Natalia B. Shustova Prof. Dr.

Faculty Publications

In this perspective, we feature recent advances in the field of actinide-containing metal–organic frameworks (An-MOFs) with a main focus on their electronic, catalytic, photophysical, and sorption properties. This discussion deviates from a strictly crystallographic analysis of An-MOFs, reported in several reviews, or synthesis of novel structural motifs, and instead delves into the remarkable potential of An-MOFs for evolving the nuclear waste administration sector. Currently, the An-MOF field is dominated by thorium- and uranium-containing structures, with only a few reports on transuranic frameworks. However, some of the reported properties in the field of An-MOFs foreshadow potential implementation of these materials and …

Beyond Structural Motifs: The Frontier Of Actinide-Containing Metal–Organic Frameworks, Corey R. Martin, Gabrielle A. Leith, Natalia B. Shustova

Faculty Publications

In this perspective, we feature recent advances in the field of actinide-containing metal-organic frameworks (An-MOFs) with a main focus on their electronic, catalytic, photophysical, and sorption properties. This discussion deviates from a strictly crystallographic analysis of An-MOFs, reported in several reviews, or synthesis of novel structural motifs, and instead delves into the remarkable potential of An-MOFs for evolving the nuclear waste administration sector. Currently, the An-MOF field is dominated by thorium- and uranium-containing structures, with only a few reports on transuranic frameworks. However, some of the reported properties in the field of An-MOFs foreshadow potential implementation of these materials and …

Chemical Characterization Of Toxicologically Relevant Molecules In Cannabis Concentrates And Vaporizer Aerosols, Jiries Meehan-Atrash

Dissertations and Theses

Consumption of cannabis concentrates using the relatively novel non-combustion methods dabbing and vaping has steadily grown in popularity as cannabis legalization in North America has allowed increased access to sophisticated cannabis products and technology. In order to assess the safety of these products, it is necessary to gain a chemical understanding of the decomposition reactions that occur when the active ingredients are heated in the conditions seen when dabbing or vaping. This dissertation contains a manuscript that details efforts to structurally characterize a toxic cannabis concentrate adulterant, and three manuscripts that studied the chemical decomposition of the two primary cannabis …

Explorations Of Thermus Thermophilus Hb8 Transcription Factors Ttha1437 And Ttha1719 Using The Combinatorial Selection Method Repsa, Sarah Claire Sneed

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

In all organisms, genes exist that encode for regulatory proteins, called transcription factors (TFs) that can activate or repress transcription of specific genes depending on their biological function. Thermus thermophilus HB8 is speculated to contain 2,245 genes, of which 70 are postulated to be transcription factors. However, but for very few, little is known regarding the genes they regulate and their biological functions. The novel combinatorial method Restriction Endonuclease Protection, Selection, and Amplification (REPSA) has been successful for identifying and validating consensus binding sequences in T. thermophilus HB8 with previously studied TFs. Here REPSA was explored as a technique and …

Reeling In New Antibiotics: Synthesis And Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Of Zinc-Binding Clavanins From Styela Clava (Sea Squirt), Eduardo Badillo-Colberg

Honors Scholar Theses

Clavanins have been a quite rarely studied antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family. Though the data in the few studies published on the matter and in theoretical experimental data presented by the Wang lab in their peptide library creation [14], in that the members of this family could potentially be quite effective novel antimicrobial candidates. Among those that have been targets of studies, Clavanin A has been at the forefront of this endeavor of finding effective novel antimicrobial peptides[14]. In these aforementioned studies, Clavanin A has been shown to be quite effective against many different bacterial strains, which begs the question as …

Targeting Of Glut5 For Transporter-Mediated Drug-Delivery Is Contingent Upon Substrate Hydrophilicity, Nazanin Nahrjou, Avik Ghosh, Marina Tanasova

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Specific link between high fructose uptake and cancer development and progression highlighted fructose transporters as potential means to achieve GLUT-mediated discrimination between normal and cancer cells. The gained expression of fructose-specific transporter GLUT5 in various cancers offers a possibility for developing cancer-specific imaging and bioactive agents. Herein, we explore the feasibility of delivering a bioactive agent through cancer-relevant fructose-specific transporter GLUT5. We employed specific targeting of GLUT5 by 2,5-anhydro-D-mannitol and investigated several drug conjugates for their ability to induce cancer-specific cytotoxicity. The proof-of-concept analysis was carried out for conjugates of chlorambucil (CLB) in GLUT5-positive breast cancer cells and normal breast …

13c Chemical Shift Concentration Dependence Of Phenol, Anisole, And Their Sulfur Analogs As A Probe Into Anomalous Reactivity In Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Reactions, Braxton Lowers, Adam Reed

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The ¹³C chemical shift concentration dependence of phenol, anisole, thiophenol, and thioanisole in CDCl₃ was acquired and analyzed over various concentration ranges and reported with the intention of observing the effect of hydrogen bonding on the electron density around aromatic nuclei. Of the para carbon chemical shift concentration dependences observed, phenol exhibited the most significant concentration dependence. Attempts were made to determine the functions describing concentration dependence of the ¹³C chemical shifts observed. Notably, CDCl₃ was found to exhibit relatively nonlinear concentration dependence in the same range as the compounds observed, suggesting that trace impurity and …

Designing A Reactive Warhead To Bind And Inhibit Pseudomonas Aeruginosa’S Periplasmic Protein, Inhibitor Of Vertebrate Lysozyme, Leah Greinke

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found throughout the environment. It is a significant cause of disease and mortality in immunodeficient patients such as those suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). Due to the emerging antibiotic resistance of P. aeruginosa, it is becoming increasingly more challenging to treat an infection by traditional means. Further complicating treatment, P. aeruginosa secretes a protein known as Inhibitor of Vertebrate Lysozyme (PaIVY) that binds to and inhibits C-type lysozyme, thus preventing the degradation of the bacterium. A reactive chemical warhead was synthesized from a rhenium(I) tricarbonyl derivative inorder to bind to and irreversibly …

Initial Investigation Of Wildflower Honey Using Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Coupled With Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry For Geographical Information, Tyra Countiss

Honors Theses

Honey has been used as a food, sugar substitute, and flavor enhancer forever. The uses for honey are extremely varied from food to medicine. It is widely touted that you can address seasonal allergies, especially those following a move, by eating local honey. For this to be true the composition of the local honey, including trapped pollen, would allow allergy symptoms to be eliminated. In this project, the volatile and semi-volatile aroma compounds in wild flower honey from several different locations were analyzed. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to help develop the …

Computational And Experimental Studies Of Functionalized Phenolic Tertiary Phosphine Oxides As Organocatalysts For The Redox-Neutral Mitsunobu Reaction, Sadie Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was the identification of a more efficient catalyst analog that could perform the redox-neutral Mitsunobu reaction, which was achieved via two synthetic pathways: elimination-addition and addition-rearrangement. Furthermore, a computational investigation was conducted on the conflicting interpretations of the catalytic cycle. Our research group replicated Houk et al. work, as well as expanded the computations to examine the influence different functional groups had on the ground state and transition state structures. Important ground state and transition state structures were determined, which provided a more energetically favorable pathway of the catalytic cycle. Experimental work demonstrated that both …

Quantification Of Persistent Organic Pollutants In Various Matrices Using Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction And Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry, Weier Hao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A method was developed to quantify persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a wide range of matrices including wastewater, dietary supplements, and human whole blood using stir-bar sorptive extraction, GC-MS/MS, and isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The method enabled accurate, precise, sensitive, and efficient quantification of POPs in these matrices. Compared with calibration curves, IDMS provided measurements with a higher level of accuracy and precision, especially at lower measured concentrations. The use of GC-MS/MS enabled a lower limit of quantification compared with GC-MS. A reverse-IDMS method was performed to further eliminate biases from the labelled concentrations of the commercially available standards. …

Proton Pump Inhibitors Promote Apoptosis In Jurkat T Lymphocytes, Asher Utz

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Cancer cells are known to rely on the anaerobic energy pathway of glycolysis even under normoxic conditions, resulting in measurable intracellular acidification that may trigger cell death by apoptosis. In normal cells, the pH is restored by activation of voltage-gated proton pumps, preventing apoptosis. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole, inhibit the action of these voltage-gated proton pumps. Research has shown that omeprazole is also capable of inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis in Jurkat T-lymphocytes, but this area of study remains largely unexplored. The goal of this research was to determine the temporal dynamics of caspase activity in Jurkat cells treated …

Environment-Friendly Flame Retardants For Bio-Based Polyurethanes, Felipe Martins De Souza

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Finding alternative ways to decrease the large consumption of non-renewable resources has been one of the greatest challenges faced by the industry and academia. The trend of using bio-renewable-based materials is an interesting alternative to tackle environmental issues as well as provide economically viable materials. In this work, carvone, an essential oil, was used to synthesize a bio-based polyol through a thiol-ene reaction. The chemical functions were analyzed through Fourier transformed infrared spectrum (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), viscosity, and hydroxyl number, which confirmed the synthesis of carvone-based polyol. The latter was then physically blended with three different flame-retardants separately: …

Extreme Weather And Its Impacts On Human Civilizations: An In-Depth Investigation Of Causes And Effects, Jason Zabel

Senior Honors Theses

Extreme weather has impacted humanity since creation and is an important topic that deserves examination. In this thesis, the main event that is presented and analyzed is the extreme haze that clouded much of China’s skies in 2013. Further, the impacts this major event had on people, including changes in population movement, death/injury rate, and changes in atmospheric chemistry due to the high concentration of particulates are discussed. Subsequent examples that will be explored include Hurricane Katrina and the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The main contention of this thesis is that the effects extreme weather has on human civilization …

Food Chemistry, Emelia Zukowski, Brian A. Provencher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Supporting Biomedical Research Training For Historically Underrepresented Undergraduates Using Interprofessional, Nonformal Education Structures, Lisa K. Marriott, Aaron Raz Link, Roberto P. Anitori, Ernest A. Blackwell, Andrea Blas, Jennifer Brock, Tracey K. Burke, Julia A. Burrows, Alexis P. Cabrera, Derek Helsham, Lorna B. Liban, Marilyn R. Mackiewicz, Mika Maruyama, Kathryn C.A. Milligan-Myhre, Perry J.C. Panelinan, Margaret Hattori-Uchima, Russell Reed, Ben E. Simon, Beylul Solomon, Alma M.O. Trinidad, Letisha R. Wyatt, Alonso Delgado Covarrubias, Adrienne Zell, Thomas E. Keller, Cynthia Morris, Carlos J. Crespo

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research experience provides critical training for new biomedical research scientists. Students from underrepresented populations studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are increasingly recruited into research pathways to diversify STEM fields. However, support structures outside of research settings designed to help these students navigate biomedical research pathways are not always available; nor are program support components outside the context of laboratory technical skills training and formal mentorship well understood. This study leveraged a multi-institutional research training program, Enhancing Cross-Disciplinary Infrastructure and Training at Oregon (EXITO), to explore how nine institutions designed a new curricular structure (Enrichment) to meet a common …

Effects Of Crowding Agents On I-Motif Dna, Hayden Brines

Honors Theses

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a well-known double stranded, helical, biological molecule. In addition to its more commonly known structure, DNA can also form more complicated structures like G-quadruplexes and i-motifs (iM). The iMs are formed by cytosine rich DNA and are a four stranded structure that is typically looped around itself. The iM formation is typically pH-dependent and is favored in more acidic conditions; the pKa value is approximately 6.5. This pKa value allows for potential in vivo formation, since the cells have a pH of approximately 7.3. Due to this, iMs are thought to be powerful, innovative molecules for …

Applications Of Sodium Azide In The Synthesis Of Tetrazines And Hydrolysis Reactions, My Le

Honors Theses

The inverse electron demand Diels−Alder cycloadditions of heterocyclic azadienes have provided a robust methodology for synthesizing highly substituted and functionalized heterocycles. It is widely used in organic synthesis and the pharmaceutical industry in the divergent construction of screening libraries and bioorthogonal conjugation. Each heterocyclic azadiene was found to possess a unique reactivity toward different classes of dienophiles, display predictable modes of cycloaddition, and exhibit substantial substituent electronic effects impacting their intrinsic reactivity and cycloaddition regioselectivity. Synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrazine has been reported in the literature since the late 19th century, showing scientists' tremendous interest in its application.

Herein we attempt to …

Determination Of Metals And Microplastics In Sediment From Oyster Reefs In The Mississippi Sound, Shelby Goza

Honors Theses

This research centers on the determination of metals (Cd, Pb, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) and microplastics (MPs) in marine sediment from oyster reefs in the Mississippi Sound Estuary. Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are a vital part of the Gulf Coast economy, but their population has dramatically declined in recent years due to multiple stressors, including oil spills and fluctuations in salinity from flooding. Increasingly frequent flooding events also introduce high loads of MPs and sediments containing heavy metals from the Mississippi River. These pollutants can have deleterious effects on oyster biology; however, they have not been adequately …

End Group Modification Of Linear Dendritic Block Copolymers (Ldbcs), Chinwe Udemgba

Honors Theses

Linear dendritic block copolymers are amphiphilic molecules that consist of a dendritic hydrophilic portion and a linear hydrophobic portion. Its unique ability to self-assemble into spherical nanoaggregates while having the potential to uptake and transport both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs makes these polymers an item of interest in regard to the drug delivery field. The synthesis of polyamidoamine-polylactide linear dendritic block copolymers was designed to address the common issues in drug delivery systems, including problems in permeability, solubility, stability, specificity, and retention. Though this linear dendritic block copolymer has previously been synthesized in our lab with cationic amine surface functionalities, …

The Power Of Sulfur: A Study Of An Isothiocyanate Chiral Derivatizing Agent, Thioamide Based Chiral Solvating Agents, And The Geometry Of Sulfonamides, Emily B. Crull

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation is connected by the thread of utilizing sulfur-based functional groups, hence the power of sulfur. The first project was the development of a pentafluorobenzene based isothiocyanate chiral derivatizing agent (CDA), a class of compounds that differentiate enantiomers through covalent bond formation. This project, which was addressed using a combination of synthetic and computational methods and NMR analysis, gave rise to an CDA that was highly selective for amines and computationally predictable. Branching off of that, the second project demonstrated the use of two thioamide chiral solvating agents (CSAs), which had never been reported as a core functional …

Design And Modeling Of Bioinspired Polyelectrolytes With Controlled Architectures For Gene Delivery Applications, Kelli Stockmal

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the development of a range of bioinspired polyelectrolytes with controlled architectures for gene and drug delivery applications. Glycans are ubiquitous in biological systems, and understanding the role of saccharide stereochemistry, as well as cationic charge, on polymer behavior in aqueous solution and the interactions with nucleic acids can provide insight into how synthetic polyelectrolytes can be used for non-viral gene delivery and other biological applications. The first chapter provides an introductory overview on how cationic polyelectrolytes can be used to aid the delivery of RNA for controlling gene expression in a variety of cell types, how …

Post Covid-19 Water And Waste Water Management To Protect Public Health And Geoenvironment, Ken Cornell, Arvin Farid

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has posed severe threats to humans and the geoenvironment. The findings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) traces in waste water and the practice of disinfecting outdoor spaces in several cities in the world, which can result into the entry of disinfectants and their by-products into storm drainage systems and their subsequent discharge into rivers and coastal waters, raise the issue of environmental, ecological and public health effects. The aims of the current paper are to investigate the potential of water and waste water to operate as transmission routes for Sars-CoV-2 and the …

Fluorinated Alcohol Induced Supramolecular Bipbasic Systems In Proteomics And Lipidomics, Mohammadmehdi Azizi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

The Fluoroalcohol induced Supramolecular Biphasic (FAiS-BP) systems are composed of a supramolecular phase which is a highly concentrated mixture of a fluoroalcohol and an amphiphile, and a separate aqueous-rich phase. The first part of this study presents new classes of FAiS-BP systems and studies their application in identification and coverage enhancement of low-abundance and/or hydrophobic proteins, such as integral membrane proteins. By taking the advantage of FAiS-BP systems in proteomics, we can concomitantly extract, fractionate, and enrich proteins; therefore, an additional separation dimension and a simple step of enrichment would be added prior to the LC-MS. Yeast proteins (Saccharomyces cerevisiae …

Study Of Hierarchy And Pore Architechture Of Porous Materials, Poroshat Taheri

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Research to design, synthesize, and characterize porous materials is a rapidly growing field due to porous materials’ potential use in a wide range of applications. For any application, insights into the structure formation parameters and properties relating to those parameters are highly desired. This thesis deals with the combination of two classes of materials, aerogels and polymer-derived ceramics. Polymer Derived Ceramics (PDCs) are processed using liquid-based, hydrocarbon polymeric precursors at lower temperature, followed by heat treatments at higher temperature. Silicon oxycarbide (SiCO) is one type of PDC. Various types and ranges of porosity can be introduced into SiCO when using …

Ene Reactions Of Methylidene Thiazolidines, Key M. Tse

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses - Archive

This thesis describes the synthesis of seven new racemic molecules from methylidene thiazolidines reacting with two enophiles, N-phenylmaleimide and ethyl glyoxylate. The synthesis of these molecules was achieved through the ene reaction under thermal conditions, resulting in an adduct containing a single chiral carbon. This is foundational work in exploration of ene reactions of the methylidiene thiazolidines used in this work with different enophiles and eventually asymmetric catalysis to synthesize chiral compounds, such as non-natural amino acids. Chapter 1 of this thesis describes the ene reaction and the various molecules that were synthesized via an ene reaction. It also describes …

Simulation Of The Interaction Between Striated Muscle Unc-45 And Transcription Factor Gata-4, Drake Alexander Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Striated Muscle UNC-45, also known as UNC-45b, is an important protein that acts as a chaperone for myosin in cardiac and skeletal muscles, binding to myosin at its C-terminal UCS domain and regulating its assembly into thick filaments and sarcomeric structures. The UCS domain contains a large loop that is believed to be the first point of interaction between myosin and UNC-45b. GATA-4 is an essential transcription factor that facilitates transcription of several genes in cardiac development, particularly alpha-heavy chain myosin in heart tissue. Recently, studies have shown that there is interaction of GATA-4 with UNC-45b and that GATA-4 binds …

Development Of High Throughput Assays For Identification And Evaluation Of Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Microrna-31 Expression, Jackline A. Onyango

Masters Theses

Dysregulated expression of miRNAs has been linked to numerous cancers. On the other hand, miRNAs are potential drug targets due to the ability of their precursor molecules to fold into ligand binding structures. Small-molecule modulators of miRNAs offers opportunity for the development of new therapeutic agents and tools to further probe the mechanisms of miRNA functions. To facilitate the identification of miRNA modulators, the appropriate screening systems are needed, which would be adaptable for high-throughput applications, and allow for quantitative measurements. In this text, we present a molecular beacon-based assay to identify molecules that inhibit miRNA-31 processing by Dicer and …