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2019

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Onciderini Thomson, 1860 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) Types Of The Museum Für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute For Evolution And Biodiversity Science, Berlin (Zmhb), Eugenio H. Nearns, Francisco E. De L. Nascimento Jan 2019

Onciderini Thomson, 1860 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) Types Of The Museum Für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute For Evolution And Biodiversity Science, Berlin (Zmhb), Eugenio H. Nearns, Francisco E. De L. Nascimento

Insecta Mundi

The primary types of Onciderini Thomson, 1860 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) of the Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin (ZMHB), Germany, are catalogued and illustrated. Data on the original combination, current name, gender, and type locality are verified and presented. There are 16 primary types of Onciderini including four in Oncideres Lacordaire, 1830 and three in Trestonia Buquet, 1859. Of the 16 primary types, seven were described by Ubirajara R. Martins, four by Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson, and three by Ernst Friedrich Germar.


New Data On The Taxonomy And Distribution Of Philippine Ochodaeidae And Description Of A New Species From Central Visayas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea), Jean-Bernard Huchet Jan 2019

New Data On The Taxonomy And Distribution Of Philippine Ochodaeidae And Description Of A New Species From Central Visayas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea), Jean-Bernard Huchet

Insecta Mundi

The status of the taxon Ceratochodaeus Huchet, 2017 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea), initially described as a subgenus of Nothochodaeus Nikolajev, 2005, is reconsidered and raised to generic level. New information on the distribution of Ceratochodaeus eliotti (Huchet, 2014), new combination, in the Philippine archipelago is provided. Ceratochodaeus darlingi Huchet, a new species from Negros island, Central Visayas (region VII), is described and illustrated.


The Exotic Agrilus Cyanescens (Ratzeburg) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Is Discovered In Oregon, Richard L. Westcott, Wyatt Williams, Amy Grotta Jan 2019

The Exotic Agrilus Cyanescens (Ratzeburg) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Is Discovered In Oregon, Richard L. Westcott, Wyatt Williams, Amy Grotta

Insecta Mundi

In two separate occurrences, graduates of the Oregon Forest Pest Detector program discovered the exotic Agrilus cyanescens (Ratzeburg) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Portland, Oregon, damaging a backyard shrub, Lonicera involucrata (Rich.) Banks ex Spreng. (Caprifoliaceae). Although first detected in the USA 99 years ago, the known occurrence nearest to Oregon is in Utah.


New Larval Host Records For Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) From An Ecuadorian Andean Cloud Forest, John W. Brown, Lee A. Dyer, Santiago Villamarin-Cortez, Danielle Salcido Jan 2019

New Larval Host Records For Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) From An Ecuadorian Andean Cloud Forest, John W. Brown, Lee A. Dyer, Santiago Villamarin-Cortez, Danielle Salcido

Insecta Mundi

A biological inventory focused on plant-caterpillar-parasitoid associations at Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador, yielded 81 adult specimens of Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea) representing 42 species in 13 genera. Based on this material, new host records are presented for species in the following genera: Lypothora Razowski, 1981; Inape Razowski, 1988; Orthocomotis Dognin, 1905; Paraptila Meyrick, 1912; Runtunia Razowski and Wojtusiak, 2008; Transtillaspis Razowski, 1987; Xoser Razowski and Pelz, 2003; Argyrotaenia Stephens, 1852; Anacrusis Zeller, 1877; Sisurcana Powell, 1986; Amorbia Clemens, 1860; Paramorbia Powell and Lambert, 1986; and Episimus Walsingham, 1892. Tortricids were reared from 46 plant species representing 24 plant families, with Piperaceae, …


First Record Of Xysma Dominicum Antropov, 1995 (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) In Puerto Rico, The Antilles, And Notes On The Nesting Behavior, Julio A. Genaro Jan 2019

First Record Of Xysma Dominicum Antropov, 1995 (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) In Puerto Rico, The Antilles, And Notes On The Nesting Behavior, Julio A. Genaro

Insecta Mundi

Xysma dominicum Antropov (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) is recorded for the first time in Puerto Rico. It was found nesting in vertical banks in dry forest habitat in Guánica, Ponce. Notes about the nesting behavior are presented. The female, previously unknown, is described and illustrated.

Se registra por primera vez a Xysma dominicum Antropov (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) para Puerto Rico. La especie fue encontrada nidificando en paredes verticales, en el bosque seco de Guánica, Ponce. Se presentan notas sobre la conducta de nidificación. Se describe e ilustra a la hembra, previamente desconocida.


Nomenclatural Changes In American Apomecynini Including Description Of New Genera And Species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Antonio Santos-Silva, Francisco E. De L. Nascimento, James E. Wappes Jan 2019

Nomenclatural Changes In American Apomecynini Including Description Of New Genera And Species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Antonio Santos-Silva, Francisco E. De L. Nascimento, James E. Wappes

Insecta Mundi

Nomenclatural and taxonomic changes are proposed for American Apomecynini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae). New synonymies: Parmenonta valida Thomson, 1868, type species of Parmenonta Thomson, 1868, is transferred to Adetus LeConte, 1852, making obligatory the synonymy of Parmenonta with Adetus; Adetus cylindricus Bates, 1866 = A. inaequalis (Thomson, 1868); Adetus leucostigma Bates, 1880 = Adetus binotatus (Thomson, 1868); Adetus tuberosus Galileo and Martins, 2003 = Typophaula melancholica Thomson, 1868; Adetus latericius Belon, 1902, and Adetus irregularis (Breuning, 1939) = Adetus nanus (Fairmaire and Germain, 1859). New records: Adetus binotatus for Chiapas, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, and Quintana Roo (Mexico), new state records; A. …


The Diptera Of Panama. I. Annotated Catalog Of The Tipulomorpha Of Panama, Brian J. Armitage, Tomas A. Rios Gonzalez Jan 2019

The Diptera Of Panama. I. Annotated Catalog Of The Tipulomorpha Of Panama, Brian J. Armitage, Tomas A. Rios Gonzalez

Insecta Mundi

There are 214 species of the suborder Tipulomorpha (Diptera) known from Panama. Of these, 162 species were described by the noted American entomologist, Charles Paul Alexander, from Panama during the period from 1912 through 1979. Panama hosts two of the four families found within the Tipulomorpha: Limoniidae (197 species) and Tipulidae (17 species). We have records of only three species from multiple provinces (n = 2) within Panama and 211 species from just one province. The vast majority of the latter are known from a single location within their respective provinces. There are 142 endemic species (66.4%) included in …


Eraina Chelifera, Nueva Especie Chilena De La Familia Autostichidae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea), Francisco Urra Jan 2019

Eraina Chelifera, Nueva Especie Chilena De La Familia Autostichidae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea), Francisco Urra

Insecta Mundi

Se describe una nueva especie del género Eraina Clarke, 1978 (Lepidoptera: Autostichidae), Eraina chelifera nov. sp., a partir de ejemplares recolectados en la zona central de Chile. Se presentan caracteres de diagnóstico para la especie, fotografías del adulto e ilustraciones de las estructuras genitales del macho y la hembra.

A new species of the genus Eraina Clarke, 1978 (Lepidoptera: Autostichidae), Eraina chelifera nov. sp., is described from specimens collected in central Chile. Diagnostic characters for the species are presented; photographs of the adult and illustrations of male and female genitalia are provided.


Additions To The Plume Moth Fauna Of The Bahamas (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) With Description Of Four New Species, Deborah L. Matthews, Jacqueline Y. Miller, Mark J. Simon, Gary Goss Jan 2019

Additions To The Plume Moth Fauna Of The Bahamas (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) With Description Of Four New Species, Deborah L. Matthews, Jacqueline Y. Miller, Mark J. Simon, Gary Goss

Insecta Mundi

Records of Bahamas plume moths (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) collected since 2011 are summarized and four new species described: Michaelophorus salensis Matthews, new species, Oidaematophorus androsensis Matthews, new species, Hellinsia bahamensis Matthews, new species, and Hellinsia lucayana Matthews, new species. Species accounts including illustrations of adults and genitalia, diagnoses, larval hosts, habitats, and distributions are provided. Of the 23 species found, new larval host associations are reported for two species while the life histories remain unknown for seven species.


New Species Of Ochodaeus Dejean From Madagascar Ii (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae), M. J. Paulsen Jan 2019

New Species Of Ochodaeus Dejean From Madagascar Ii (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae), M. J. Paulsen

Insecta Mundi

Three new species of Ochodaeus Dejean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae) from Madagascar are described that have a strongly granulate pronotum and, unlike all previously described species from the country, possess a clypeal tubercle or minute horn: O. meridialis, O. umbonulus, and O. iniquipes. An update to the key to the species of Ochodaeus from Madagascar is provided.


Three New Tiger Beetle Species Of The Genus Prothyma Hope, 1838, Subgenus Genoprothyma Rivalier, 1964 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) Described From Myanmar. 152. Contribution Towards The Knowledge Of The Cicindelidae, Jürgen Wiesner, Moe Hnin Phyu, Michio Hori Jan 2019

Three New Tiger Beetle Species Of The Genus Prothyma Hope, 1838, Subgenus Genoprothyma Rivalier, 1964 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) Described From Myanmar. 152. Contribution Towards The Knowledge Of The Cicindelidae, Jürgen Wiesner, Moe Hnin Phyu, Michio Hori

Insecta Mundi

Prothyma (Genoprothyma) thandamoeae Wiesner, Phyu and Hori, new species, Prothyma (Genoprothyma) sotai Wiesner, Phyu and Hori, new species, and Prothyma (Genoprothyma) asamii Wiesner, Phyu and Hori, new species (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) are described from Myanmar. A key to all members of the genus known to occur in Myanmar is given.


Synonymies, A New Combination, And Four New Species In Amphicnaeia Bates (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), James E. Wappes, Antonio Santos-Silva, Maria Helena M. Galileo Jan 2019

Synonymies, A New Combination, And Four New Species In Amphicnaeia Bates (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), James E. Wappes, Antonio Santos-Silva, Maria Helena M. Galileo

Insecta Mundi

Four new species in the genus Amphicnaeia (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) are described: A. panamensis Wappes, Santos-Silva and Galileo and A. fuscofasciata Wappes, Santos-Silva and Galileo from Panama; A. bezarki Wappes, Santos-Silva and Galileo from Venezuela; and A. rileyi Wappes, Santos-Silva and Galileo from Costa Rica and Panama. Amphicnaeia affinis Breuning, 1940 is placed in synonymy with A. lineata Bates, 1866, and the species newly recorded from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Amphicnaeia cordigera Aurivillius, 1920 is transferred to Rosalba Thomson, 1864, resulting in a new combination, and Rosalba rufescens Breuning, 1940, is found to be a junior synonym of …


Descriptions Of Two New Elateroid Beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae, Elateridae) From Burmese Amber, Robert L. Otto Jan 2019

Descriptions Of Two New Elateroid Beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae, Elateridae) From Burmese Amber, Robert L. Otto

Insecta Mundi

Two new elateroid taxa are described from amber deposits excavated from the northern region of Myanmar. Two genera, Cenomana gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae), and Cretopityobius gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are described for the first time from Burmese amber. The following new species are described: Cenomana clavata sp. nov. and Cretopityobius pankowskiorum sp. nov. Each new species is diagnosed and illustrated.


The Trichoptera Of Panama. Xii. Contributions To The Family Glossosomatidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) In Panama, Roger J. Blahnik, Brian J. Armitage Jan 2019

The Trichoptera Of Panama. Xii. Contributions To The Family Glossosomatidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) In Panama, Roger J. Blahnik, Brian J. Armitage

Insecta Mundi

Herein we describe five new species in the trichopteran family Glossosomatidae Wallengren (Insecta: Trichoptera) from Panama: Mortoniella calovebora Blahnik and Armitage, n. sp., M. yayas Blahnik and Armitage, n. sp., Protoptila inflata Blahnik and Armitage, n. sp., P. totumas Blahnik and Armitage, n. sp., and P. rambala Blahnik and Armitage, n. sp. Three of the species were collected as part of ongoing biological surveys of Panama’s national parks. We also record three new country records for Panama for this family: Culoptila costaricensis Flint, 1974, Mortoniella opinionis Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2008, and Protoptila spirifera Flint, 1974. Thirty-one …


“Connecting Honors For All”: Reimagining The Two-Year Honors Program In The Age Of Guided Pathways, Charlotte Pressler Jan 2019

“Connecting Honors For All”: Reimagining The Two-Year Honors Program In The Age Of Guided Pathways, Charlotte Pressler

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Over the past three years, honors faculty at South Florida State College, a two-year college offering a limited number of workforce baccalaureates, have reinvented their program. Rather than the themed seminars and exploratory courses popular with an earlier generation, our honors courses now offer students project-based, faculty-guided opportunities for undergraduate research within our general education course sequence. Students thus participate in honors while meeting their state- and program-specific general education requirements, and they do not run the risk of jeopardizing their financial aid by incurring “excess hours.” This focus allows us to connect honors education to the vocationally oriented goals …


Opening Doors To Engage A More Diverse Population In Honors: A Conversation, Giovanna E. Walters, Angela Jill Cooley, Quentina Dunbar Jan 2019

Opening Doors To Engage A More Diverse Population In Honors: A Conversation, Giovanna E. Walters, Angela Jill Cooley, Quentina Dunbar

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In this article, a student, faculty member, and staff member address the question of how to engage underrepresented student populations in honors programs. A student of color describes how an honors course with experiential learning components captivated and motivated her, significantly altering her definition of self. The faculty and staff member acknowledge the necessary changes to large-scale policies, such as refining admissions criteria and implementing more diverse programs, in order to engage students of color in honors education. Key suggestions include cross-listing courses to engage current and prospective honors students, teaching honors courses and facilitating honors experiences that emphasize aspects …


The Next-Generation Retail Electricity Market In The Context Of Distributed Energy Resources: Vision And Integrating Framework, Josue Campos Do Prado, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu, Julio Romero Aguero Jan 2019

The Next-Generation Retail Electricity Market In The Context Of Distributed Energy Resources: Vision And Integrating Framework, Josue Campos Do Prado, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu, Julio Romero Aguero

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The increasing adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) and smart grid technologies (SGTs) by end-user retail customers is changing significantly both technical and economic operations in the distribution grid. The next-generation retail electricity market will promote decentralization, efficiency, and competitiveness by accommodating existing and new agents through new business models and transactive approaches in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). However, these changes will bring several technical challenges to be addressed in transmission and distribution systems. Considerable activities have been carried out worldwide to study the impacts of integrating DERs into the grid and in the wholesale electricity market. However, the …


Multi-Pig Part Detection And Association With A Fully-Convolutional Network, Eric T. Psota, Mateusz Mittek, Lance C. Pérez, Ty Schmidt, Benny Mote Jan 2019

Multi-Pig Part Detection And Association With A Fully-Convolutional Network, Eric T. Psota, Mateusz Mittek, Lance C. Pérez, Ty Schmidt, Benny Mote

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Computer vision systems have the potential to provide automated, non-invasive monitoring of livestock animals, however, the lack of public datasets with well-defined targets and evaluation metrics presents a significant challenge for researchers. Consequently, existing solutions often focus on achieving task-specific objectives using relatively small, private datasets. This work introduces a new dataset and method for instance-level detection of multiple pigs in group-housed environments. The method uses a single fully-convolutional neural network to detect the location and orientation of each animal, where both body part locations and pairwise associations are represented in the image space. Accompanying this method is a new …


Growth Of Nitride Films, Yongfeng Lu, Hossein Rabiee Golgir, Yunshen Zhou Jan 2019

Growth Of Nitride Films, Yongfeng Lu, Hossein Rabiee Golgir, Yunshen Zhou

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A gallium nitride thin film can be formed on a substrate at a low temperature (e.g., not higher than 600°C .) by applying a laser to resonantly excite molecules of a first precursor that contains nitrogen, in which the laser has a wavelength that is selected to match a vibration mode and/or a vibrational rotational mode of the molecules of the first precursor. A second precursor is provided in which the excited first precursor and the second precursor react to form a nitride that is deposited on the substrate. For example, the second precursor may include gallium, and the nitride …


Zebrafish Macroh2a Variants Have Distinct Embryo Localization And Function, E. Gonzalez-Munoz, Y. Arboleda-Estudillo, S. K. Chanumolu, H. H. Otu, J. B. Cibelli Jan 2019

Zebrafish Macroh2a Variants Have Distinct Embryo Localization And Function, E. Gonzalez-Munoz, Y. Arboleda-Estudillo, S. K. Chanumolu, H. H. Otu, J. B. Cibelli

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Mouse and cell-based studies have shown that macroH2A histone variants predominantly associate with heterochromatin. Functional studies found that macroH2As are involved in gene repression, inhibiting the acquisition of pluripotency and preserving cell differentiation. However, only a few studies have analysed the role of macroH2A during early embryo development. We report the development of transgenic zebrafish lines expressing macroH2A isoforms (mH2A1 and mH2A2) fusion proteins (with GFP) under identified endogenous promoters. We found that mH2A1 and mH2A2 have different spatial and temporal expression patterns during embryonic development. mH2A1 is expressed mostly in the extraembryonic Yolk Syncytial Layer (YSL) starting before shield …


Determinants Of Cost Of Treating Water-Borne Diseases Among Rural Households In South West Nigeria, Alaba M. Dare, Idris A. Ayinde, Adebayo M. Shittu, Sammy O. Sam-Wobo, Sakiru O. Akinbode Jan 2019

Determinants Of Cost Of Treating Water-Borne Diseases Among Rural Households In South West Nigeria, Alaba M. Dare, Idris A. Ayinde, Adebayo M. Shittu, Sammy O. Sam-Wobo, Sakiru O. Akinbode

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This study determined the factors that influence the economic burden of water-borne diseases and the associated financial cost for rural households in southwestern Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select four hundred and thirty-seven rural households from whom data were collected for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and cost of illness approach. The results revealed that an average household had six members with an average quarterly income of N80,717.52 (N160.00 = 1US dollar, at time of study). The sum of N28,571.36 was incurred as economic cost of water-borne diseases per household per quarter in …


Rechargeable Multi - Cell Battery, Wei Qiao, Taesic Kim, Liyan Qu Jan 2019

Rechargeable Multi - Cell Battery, Wei Qiao, Taesic Kim, Liyan Qu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A method for power management of a multi-cell battery includes identifying a desired power value and voltage value, determining a battery voltage value and a battery current value for a battery, determining a number of battery banks from a plurality of battery banks to use for the battery, where each battery bank includes one or more battery cells (or battery modules), checking availability of each of the one or more battery cells (or battery modules), selecting one or more battery banks from the plurality of battery banks, where the selection of a battery bank is based on the availability of …


Understanding Daily Depression, Drinking, And Marijuana Use Among Homeless Youth Using Short Message Service Surveying, Kimberly Tyler, Kristen M. Olson, Colleen M. Ray Jan 2019

Understanding Daily Depression, Drinking, And Marijuana Use Among Homeless Youth Using Short Message Service Surveying, Kimberly Tyler, Kristen M. Olson, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used short message service surveying (SMS) with 150 homeless youth to examine the time ordering of feeling depressed with drinking alcohol, using marijuana, and using substances with friends. Multilevel binary logistic regression results revealed that youth who were depressed earlier in the day were more likely to drink alcohol later that day. Among depressed youth, heterosexual youth were less likely to drink alcohol than lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth. Depressed youth had increased odds of using marijuana by a factor of 1.6, while heterosexual youth, compared to LGB youth, were 80% less likely to use marijuana. Females were …


Biological Risk Profiles Among Latino Subgroups In The Health And Retirement Study, Catherine García, Jennifer A. Ailshire Jan 2019

Biological Risk Profiles Among Latino Subgroups In The Health And Retirement Study, Catherine García, Jennifer A. Ailshire

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Latinos residing in the United States exhibit an increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases compared to non-Latino whites. This elevated risk contributes to a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among Latino adults. Examining biological risk profiles of older Latinos as a “pan-ethnic group” and by Latino subpopulations may help to explain the increased burden of disease in later life among this population. The objective of this study is to document biological risk profiles among a nationally representative sample of older U.S. Latinos by nativity and country of origin.

Research Design and Methods: We use …


Signature Sustainability Earth Day Dish, Nancy Garmer Jan 2019

Signature Sustainability Earth Day Dish, Nancy Garmer

Evans Library Publications

Evans Library celebrates Earth Day each year in partnership with the Student Organization for Sustainability Action (SOSA) and the Student Government Association (SGA) as part of a week‑long schedule of campus events. The Library shares equal billing on Earth Week promotional materials and caps off the week with a Library After Hours event on Friday evening. Earth Day offers an important opportunity to collaborate with campus organizations and highlight sustainability initiatives taking place across the university. As a central academic and community space, the Library plays a vital role in supporting and promoting sustainability efforts, making Earth Day a prescribed …


The Inductive Effect In Organic Chemistry, Charles A. Kingsbury Jan 2019

The Inductive Effect In Organic Chemistry, Charles A. Kingsbury

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

The subtle difference between the successive polarization model and the flow of electrons through sigma bonds is explored, as well as the alternating charge model of Pople and the pervasive field model. The present paper is concerned with the ability of alkyl groups to serve as sigma inductive electron donors.


In Situ Monitoring Of Linear Rgd-Peptide Bioconjugation With Nanoscale Polymer Brushes, Evmorfia Psarra, Ulla Konig, Martin Muller, Eva Bittrich, Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Petra B. Welzel, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann Jan 2019

In Situ Monitoring Of Linear Rgd-Peptide Bioconjugation With Nanoscale Polymer Brushes, Evmorfia Psarra, Ulla Konig, Martin Muller, Eva Bittrich, Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Petra B. Welzel, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Bioinspired materials mimicking the native extracellular matrix environment are promising for biotechnological applications. Particularly, modular biosurface engineering based on the functionalization of stimuli-responsive polymer brushes with peptide sequences can be used for the development of smart surfaces with biomimetic cues. The key aspect of this study is the in situ monitoring and analytical verification of the biofunctionalization process on the basis of three complementary analytical techniques. In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to quantify the amount of chemisorbed GRGDS at both the homopolymer poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush and the binary poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)− PAA brushes, which was finally confirmed …


Catalytic Mechanism Of Amyloid-Β Peptide Degradation By Insulin Degrading Enzyme: Insights From Qm/Mm Mp2 Calculation, Rui Lai, Wei-Jen Tang, Hui Li Jan 2019

Catalytic Mechanism Of Amyloid-Β Peptide Degradation By Insulin Degrading Enzyme: Insights From Qm/Mm Mp2 Calculation, Rui Lai, Wei-Jen Tang, Hui Li

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), a metalloprotease that degrades amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and insulin, is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. The mechanism of IDE catalyzed degrading of Aβ peptides, which is of fundamental importance in the design of therapeutic methods for Alzheimer’s disease, has not been fully understood. In this work, combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) style Møller-Plesset second order perturbation theory (MP2) geometry optimization calculations are performed to investigate the catalytic mechanism of the Aβ40 Phe19-Phe20 peptide bond cleavage by human IDE. The analyses using QM/MM MP2 optimization suggest that a …


In-Situ-Investigation Of Enzyme Immobilization On Polymer Brushes, Meike Koenig, Ulla König, Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Martin Muller, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann Jan 2019

In-Situ-Investigation Of Enzyme Immobilization On Polymer Brushes, Meike Koenig, Ulla König, Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Martin Muller, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Herein, we report on the use of a combined setup of quartz-crystal microbalance, with dissipation monitoring and spectroscopic ellipsometry, to comprehensively investigate the covalent immobilization of an enzyme to a polymer layer. All steps of the covalent reaction of the model enzyme glucose oxidase with the poly(acrylic acid) brush by carbodiimide chemistry, were monitored in-situ. Data were analyzed using optical and viscoelastic modeling. A nearly complete collapse of the polymer chains was found upon activation of the carboxylic acid groups with N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide and N-Hydroxysuccinimide. The reaction with the amine groups of the enzyme occurs simultaneously with re-hydration of the …


Nmr Metabolomics Protocols For Drug Discovery, Fatema Bhinderwala, Robert Powers Jan 2019

Nmr Metabolomics Protocols For Drug Discovery, Fatema Bhinderwala, Robert Powers

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Drug discovery is an extremely difficult and challenging endeavor with a very high failure rate. The task of identifying a drug that is safe, selective and effective is a daunting proposition because disease biology is complex and highly variable across patients. Metabolomics enables the discovery of disease biomarkers, which provides insights into the molecular and metabolic basis of disease and may be used to assess treatment prognosis and outcome. In this regard, metabolomics has evolved to become an important component of the drug discovery process to resolve efficacy and toxicity issues, and as a tool for precision medicine. A detailed …