Digital Commons Network^™

Sic-Cnt Multifunctional Nanocomposites For High Temperature Structural, Thermoelectric And Sensing Applications, Salvador Sandoval, Luz I. Bugarin, Luz I, Arifur Chowdhury, Luisa A. Cabrera, Mujibur R. Khan

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The purpose of this project is to study the thermal-electrical and mechanical properties of the Nanojunctions between Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) and Silicon Carbide (SiC). The mixture was done by spreading the nanoparticles in a solution of ethanol and SiC, then sintered to a solid sample of 10 mm x 10 mm x 35 mm, which was attached with Alumel (Ni-Al) wire using silver epoxy to form a circuit for recording during fracture testing. The carbon nanotubes used were approximately 60% semiconducting and 40% metallic. The themal-electrical effect changed when SWCNTs (at 2, and 5 wt%) were infused into SiC. …

3-D Vision And Motion Tracking, Alberto G. Fajardo, Olac Fuentes

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Motion tracking in Computer Vision consists of determining the location and configuration of an object from a video sequence. The potential real world applications of motion tracking range from medical imaging and analysis to entertainment, as well as surveillance and security. Motion tracking is a difficult problem, especially if it is required to be done in real time, which is why it has been an active research area for the past couple of decades. In this project we are developing algorithms for tracking articulated objects, such as the human body, by exploiting the use of the Microsoft Kinect, an imaging …

Characterization Of Printed Skin Equivalents, Mayela R, Aldaz Cervantes, Maria Yanez, Thomas Boland

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Severe burns, ulcerations, and cuts are some of the reasons people need bioengineered skin as a treatment for full-thickness wounds. When patients run out of donor sites in their own body, using the patient’s skin as a graft is no longer an option, and tissue-engineered constructs are the only possible replacement for damaged skin. The goal of this research is to develop a hydrogel-based skin graft that will be able to function as a skin replacement in full-thickness wounds while minimizing the possibility of rejection, being cost-effective, and possessing a longer shelf-life than the grafts currently in the market. Endothelial …

Preparation Of Novel Endohedral Metallofullerenes By The Krätschmer-Hoffman Arc Reactor Method, Markus J. Meyer, Manuel N. Chaur, Luis A. Echegoyen

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Since the discovery of C₆₀ fullerene 25 years ago, the pursuit of encapsulating different metals, metallic clusters, and small molecules have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to the possibility of tuning the electronic and chemical properties of these compounds. As of today various metal-non-metal combinations have been obtained such as metallic nitrides, sulfides, metal carbides and metal oxides, however, none of them (except for Sc₃N@C₈₀) has been prepared in high yields. In this work we study the preparation process of different metallofullerenes and the dependence of the fullerene yield on various parameters …

Smart Home System Prototype, Comparing And Evaluating Current Technologies, Marco Antonio López, David Guzman, Virgilio Gonzalez

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Imagine a world where blackouts can be prevented, reduced, or even removed completely. This one of the many benefits a Smart Grid would bring. The integration of the Smart Grid would bring all these benefits by being able to transfer information through all stages of electricity; generation, distribution, and consumption. This research is concentrated on the Smart Home –the consumption stage of electricity. Specifically, on technologies available that can be used towards the designing of the Smart Home. Before being able to design a Smart Home, it is necessary to decide which technologies are best for the job; be it …

Optimizing Protocols For The Derivation Of Primary Cultures From Mammalian Tissue, Eduardo Ramirez, Natzidielly Lerma, Paloma Valenzuela, Karla Parra, Courteny L. Becerril, Irving Miramontes, Howard West, Cynthia Rodriguez, Giulio Francia

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The isolation of primary cell cultures from fresh mammalian tissue is a major interest of our laboratory. Thus, the ability to generate cancer cell lines from cancer tissue, or to generate non-malignant cultures form the host stroma surrounding a tumor, allows us to develop new laboratory models to study the behavior of cancer cells and its microenvironment. We report our proof of principle study on optimizing the derivation of primary culture, using rat tissues as a model. Thus, rat kidney and rat skin samples were isolated, minced with surgical blades, and then incubated with an enzyme digestion cocktail (Collagenase III- …

Rapid Activation Of Hindbrain Neurons Following Glycemic Challenge: Regions And Phenotypes, Sarah D. Chenausky, Teresia A. Carreon, Arshad M. Khan

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Hindbrain neurons are critical for the coordination of feeding, autonomic, and metabolic responses to changes in circulating fuels, such as sugar and fatty acids. Using protein markers such as the Fos transcription factor, previous work has identified key regions of the hindbrain that may be involved in such coordination. However, in these studies, Fos protein staining of hindbrain neurons was performed hours after the hypo- or hyperglycemic challenge was delivered, making activation responses difficult to interpret in relation to the stimulus given. Moreover, these studies generally have employed immunoperoxidase methods to identify Fos-activated neurons without explicitly identifying the chemical phenotypes …

Inhibitors Of Polyisoprenylated Methylated Protein Methyl Esterase (Pmpmease) Cause Neurodegeneration By Altering Microtubules And Gβγ In Pc12 Cells, Jose A. Rivas Jr., Rebekah M. Bach, Jessica Martinez-Jurado, Jorge A. Siera-Fonseca, Sukla Roychowdhury

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Neurodegeneration, a progressive loss of nerve cells (neurons), occurs in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Schizophrenia and drug addiction. Disruption of Microtubules (MTs), a major component of cytoskeleton and aggregation of proteins associated with them is the hallmark of neurodegeneration. Gβγ, an important component of G protein signaling has been shown to induce neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells by interacting with microtubules. The goal of the present study is to understand whether interfering with Gβγ-MT mediated pathway causes neurodegeneration. Because prenylation of γ subunits is important for the interaction of Gβγ with MTs, we used inhibitors (L-23 …

Characterization Of The Infectivity Of Non-Replicating Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv)-Derived Viral Vectors., Vanessa E. Rodriguez, Manuel Llano, Luis Valdes

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The ability of HIV-derived viral vectors to integrate genes of interest into the host genome causing permanent phenotypic modifications makes them excellent tools in gene therapy. However, integration also causes insertional mutagenesis and controlling integration site selection will increase the biosafety of these molecular tools. HIV DNA integration site selection is influenced by LEDGF/p75, a chromatin-bound cellular protein that interacts with the viral enzyme integrase through the integrase binding domain (IBD). Integrase catalyzes viral DNA integration and non-covalently associates with the HIV genome forming the pre-integration complex (PIC). Therefore, interaction of chromatin-bound LEDGF/p75 with the PIC-associated integrase tethers the HIV …

High-Throughput Of Indoline Derivatives Against Leishmania Major And Trypanozoma Cruzi, Joanna A. Olivas, Eva E. Iniguez, Miguel A. Vasquez, Elizabeth Calzada, Katja Michael, Rosa A. Maldonado

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Leishmania major and Trypanozoma cruzi are obligate intracellular parasites responsible for Leishmaniasis and Chaga’s disease, respectively. These neglected diseases are endemic in many regions such as Africa and South America, and are becoming a serious problem in the blood and tissue banks in the U.S. due to high immigration of people from endemic regions. Current treatments are characterized by their low efficacy against parasites and high toxicity in humans. Therefore, the discovery of new ways to treat these parasitoses has become urgent. Drug Screening of novel compounds serves as a starting point for the design of new therapies and for …

Nanowire-Graphene Hybrids For Li-Ion Insertion, Philip A. Morton, Mohammad Arif I. Shuvo, Yirong Lin

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Lithium ion batteries are one of the most popular energy storage devices due to its high energy density. However, their performance is hindered by the limited surface area of the anode. This research focuses on the use of graphene nanowire hybrids and their performance as anode material. These hybrid structures have a greater surface area then graphite, the most common anode material. Greater surface area will enhance lithium ion insertion, and thus improve battery performance. The graphene oxide (GO) will be synthesized using the Hummer’s plus method. The GO will be sonicated and reduced in an argon furnace to form …

Research And Development Of An Extremely Affordable Prosthetic Knee, Victor H. Duenas, Noe Vargas-Hernandez

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The objective of this research and development work is to apply the design process in a prosthetic knee mechanism. The importance of human knee is founded in the provided mobility, body positioning and support of the body weight. But for amputees, limitations for everyday tasks imply a real challenge. The project scope a cycle involving the social need, the development and the supply of the solution layout. The motivation is to improve life quality through voluntary and independent human movement by providing a low cost knee design.

The design process requires the conceptual, embodiment, detail and evaluation phases to complete …

Gβγ-Microtubule Interaction And Neurodegeneration, Jane K. Martinez, Jorge Sierra, Sukla Roychowdhury Ph.D.

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Aberrant organization of microtubules (MTs) is known to be a feature of neurodegeneration, which occurs in many neurological disorder including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, neuropsychiatric illness such as schizophrenia, and drug addiction. Previously, Gβγ, an important component of G protein-coupled signaling pathways, has been shown to regulate neurite outgrowth by interacting with MTs. The aim of the present study is to understand the Gβγ regulation of MT assembly and its relation to neurodegeneration, using GRK-ct peptide (consists of the carboxy terminus of G protein-coupled-receptor kinase) which is known to inhibit Gβγ-dependent signaling by binding to and sequestering Gβγ. PC12 cells …

Development Of A Vaccine Printer For Helicobacter Pylori, Gabriela Enriquez, Julio E. Rincon, Thomas Boland

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Helicobacter pylori is present in approximately half of the world’s population, of which approximately 2% develop a type of gastric cancer. This cancer is often discovered when being in an advanced stage due to its lack of symptoms. Unfortunately, a vaccine hasn’t been successfully developed against the bacterium. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop the functional prototype of a DNA vaccine printer. Its parts were designed in the program NX. 6.0 and built out of ABS plastic using printing technology at the University of Texas at El Paso. After being assembled, the printer will be programmed and …

Development Of A Chaperonin Activity Assay, Timothy P. Brown, Danielle Y. Martinez, Ricardo A. Bernal

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Chaperonin-mediated protein folding by the Escherichia coli GroEL/GroES complex is pivotal in preventing premature aggregation and improper folding of proteins. In fact E. coli that have had the groE operon knocked out are not able to survive. The explicit details of facilitated folding in the interior of the chaperonin complex remain relatively unknown, although it is understood that ATP hydrolysis is essential to the chaperonin protein-folding cycle. The goal of this project is to develop an assay to detect the protein folding activity of chaperonins. ATP hydrolysis reactions allow chaperonins to undergo a series of conformational changes that alter the …

Bimetallic Systems As Platforms For Supramolecular Chemistry And Metal Organic Frameworks, Jose M. Veleta, Dino Villagrán

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Homonuclear M₂ units (M = Ru, Mo) with tetraacetate ligands are used as starting materials to react with a wide variety of electron rich molecules; HDAniF (N,N’-di-p-anisylformamidine) has been used as a bridging ligand for the M-M units, and bisbidentate carboxylate and carboxamidate ligands have been used as linkers between M₂ units. Special interest is focused in the study of compounds with multiple bonds between bimetallic units, as well as paramagnetic and electrochemical active complexes. The reactivity of these bimetallic complexes leads to the synthesis of monomeric and dimeric species, which are building blocks for the design of …

One-Pot Γ-Amino Acids Synthesis From Co2 Via Zirconacycle, Teresita J. Maldonado, Diego A. Pedroza, Shizue Mito

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

One-pot γ-amino acids synthesis from CO₂ via zirconacycle was studied. It has been reported that ketone and isocyanides are viable substrates for insertion into Zr‒C bonds of zirconocene‒1-aza-1,3-diene complexes. The purpose of this project is to explore the viability of CO₂ insertion to develop a new method for γ-amino acids synthesis in which all the reactions are executed in a single pot. In this method, first zirconocene‒1-aza-1,3-diene complex is prepared by using Cp₂Zr₂Cl₂ and an α, β-unsaturated imine. Second, CO₂ was introduced into the zirconocene complex solution to form the seven-membered ring …

Messenger Mrna Analysis As A Means To Identify Mechanisms Of Cancer Drug Resistance, Courtney L. Becerril, Irving Miramontes, Jiselle Del Cid, Natzidielly Lerma, Karla Parra, Eduardo D. Ramirez, Howard West, Paloma Valenzuela, Cynthia Rodriguez, Giulio Francia

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

On principal approach to identify the mechanisms by which cancers escape from anti-cancer therapies is the analysis of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in those tumor cells that survive treatment. Thus, by studying Her-2 positive human breast tumor cells that survived anti-Her-2 based therapies (i.e., using anti-Her-2 antibody) we observed the 3-fold or greater overexpression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) mRNA. Similarly, by studying the mRNAs of tumor cell cultures resistant to chemotherapy (such as cisplatin), we found that low levels of mRNAs for DNA mismatch repair genes correlates with drug resistance. These results suggest that two possible strategies of sensitizing …

Redox Potential Tuning By Mixed-Ligand Quadruply Bonded Dimolybdenum Compounds, Nathalie Valdez, Dino Villagran

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Oxidation-reduction reactions are crucial in chemistry. They are vital for biochemical reactions such as cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Redox reactions are also important in industrial processes, such as the reduction of ores to obtain metals and to produce electrochemical cells. While this field of chemistry has been studied extensively, this project attempts to get a better understanding of electron donor properties of basic ligands attached to bimetallic units. The more basic a ligand is, the better its electron donor properties are which allows us to stabilize higher oxidations states. Guanidine ligands have been found to be able to stabilize higher …

Development Of A New Protecting Group For N-Acetylneuraminic Acid In Glycopeptide Synthesis, Luis A. Barrera, Katja Michael

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

N-acetylneuraminc acid (Neu5Ac) is contained in a tumor-associated antigen called STn, which is expressed in form of glycoproteins on the cell surface of many carcinomas. Synthesized partial sequences (glycopeptides) of these cell surface glycoproteins could potentially be used as anticancer vaccines, or for the production of antibodies which could be useful for immunotherapy. STn-containing glycopeptides are sensitive to acid and base catalyzed decomposition, which makes their chemical synthesis quite challenging. If this research is successful, we may be able to contribute to the advancement of cancer research by making sensitive STn-containing glycopeptides more accessible through chemical synthesis.

My current project …

Research And Development Of An Expert System In Idea Generation Methods To Aid In The Engineering Design Process, Rodrigo Enriquez, Noe Vargas-Hernandez

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The objective of this research is to develop an Expert System (i.e. software) to aid designers in selecting appropriate idea generation methods for their specific design situation. This expert system would help designers generate creative ideas more frequently, and hence better designs and better products for society. The first step is to understand the creative design process in detail; this involves the engineering design process, cognitive processes, and other related elements. This understanding is represented initially as a conceptual model. Following an Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach, this model is then developed into a Logical model that defines entities, attributes, and …

Protein Expression Analysis Of Cell Lines Derived From Drug Resistant Tumors, Paloma Valenzuela, Karla Parra, Natzidielly Lerma, Courtney Becerril, Eduardo Ramirez, Irving Miramontes, Howard West, Cynthia Rodriguez, Yang Li, Jianying Zhang, Giulio Francia

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

There are a number of effective treatments for breast cancer, including chemotherapy and targeted strategies such as the use of the Her-2 targeting drugs lapatinib and trastuzumab. However, in a number of cases, tumors that initially respond to therapy eventually develop drug resistance, leading to the relapse of the disease. By studying protein levels in different drug resistant variants, we have observed two mechanisms by which drug resistance may develop. Thus, some Her-2 human breast cancer cells (e.g., MDA-MB-231H2N) treated with the clinically used trastuzumab agent, can escape therapy by shedding, or losing, the target Her-2 protein. Similarly, EMT-6 mouse …

The Rewarding Effects Of Nicotine Are Enhanced In Diabetic Rats Given Extended Access To Intravenous Self-Administration Procedures, Julio C. Chaparro, Jesse A. Jurado, Nicole M. Kimura, Laura E. O'Dell

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Diabetic patients who use tobacco display higher mortality rates as compared to healthy individuals who also use tobacco. Despite the magnitude of the problem, it is unclear whether diabetic subjects display enhanced rewarding effects that may lead to greater vulnerability to abuse tobacco as compared to healthy controls. To address this question, a rat model was used whereby diabetes is induced via administration of streptozotocin (STZ), a drug that is toxic to insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Following diabetes induction, control or diabetic rats were given access to intravenous self-administration (IVSA) of nicotine in extended 23-hour or limited 1-hour …

Synthesis Of The Disaccharide Αgal(1,4)Βgal Related To Trypanosoma Cruzi And Its Conjugation To A Protein, Erika Y. Monroy, Igor C. Almeida, Katja Michael*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The disaccharide αGal(1,4)βGal was synthesized by Schmidt’s trichloroacetimidate method. α-Stereoselectivity was achieved by the sterically demanding 4,6-di-tert-butyl-silylidene protecting group in the glycosyl donor. The disaccharide was equipped with an allyl group that allowed for the installation of a thiol functionality, which was used for conjugation to the maleimide-derivatized carrier protein keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Among other oligosaccharides with terminal a-galactosyl moieties this disaccharide could potentially exist on the cell surface of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), which is the causative agent of Chagas disease. As of today no effective vaccine has been developed for Chagas disease. The …

Real Time Stereo Vision Using Dynamic Programming On A Graphics Processing Unit (Gpu), Janet Marie Mendoza, Rodrigo Antonio Romero, Olac Fuentes

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Stereo vision is an important research topic in computer vision. It attempts to emulate the human vision system by using two or more images of the same scene to estimate depth information in three dimensions. The development of this topic is of much importance to many applications that vary from medical to entertainment. Currently, many researchers are searching for a method that will increase the speed of the process and still obtain high-quality results. Dynamic programming, which is a method for solving complex problems by breaking them down into simpler sub problems, has been successfully applied in stereo vision. We …

Dopamine Is Critical For Courtship Behavior In Drosophila Melanogaster, Arlene C. Smith, Junghwa Lim, Kyung-An Han

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Male courtship in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an innate behavior influenced by sensory input and experience. Various aspects of male courtship behavior including motivation, pleasure, motor control, learning and memory are modulated by dopamine. For instance, the flies with increased dopamine levels show enhanced courtship activity. In Drosophila, there are four known types of dopamine receptors including D1 receptor dDA1, D2 receptor dD2R, D5 receptor DAMB, and the novel dopamine ecdysone receptor DopEcR that binds both dopamine and ecdysone steroid. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of DopEcR in male courtship behavior. To investigate …

Power Tac 2012: Agent Technologies For The Smart Grid, Carlos E. Montijo, Daniel H. Grajeda, Christopher Kiekintveld

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Intelligent agents are a critical technology in managing the increasingly complex and decentralized energy systems that are evolving. These technologies, often called the "smart grid," have the potential to improve the efficiency and reliability of future energy markets. This project focuses on developing a trading agent to compete in the 2012 Power TAC game, a new scenario this year that is part of the annual Trading Agent Competition. Modeling a liberalized retail electrical energy market, Power TAC is a simulation in which competing trading agents or brokers offer energy services to customers via tariff contracts. The brokers must also serve …

Synthesis Of Metal Organic Framework Composites For Improved Porosity, Jesse Murillo, Venkata P. Neti, Luis Echegoyen*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The synthesis of new highly porous composite materials, by combining Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and graphene derivatives is described. The porosity of these composite materials is confirmed by pore volume, nitrogen uptake, BET and Langmuir surface area calculations. Structural information for the composites is accomplished through powder x-ray diffraction measurements, thermal gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. MOF-210, reported by Yaghi et al. in 2010, was chosen for composition with a graphene oxide composite due to its record holding pore size and internal surface area. The synthetic route to creation of precursors for MOF-210, as well as MOF-210 synthesis, is …

Real Time Face Hallucination For Recognition, Alexander Knaust, Olac Fuentes

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Low resolution video and images are a common hindrance in recognition of people or enjoyment of a communication service, but are often necessary due to high hardware costs or low bandwidth availability. In particular, surveillance images of faces are commonly of too low a resolution to recognize reliably, hampering their purpose. Face Hallucination consists of Super-Resolution techniques to enhance the images of faces beyond what can be achieved by standard interpolation techniques. Unfortunately, the facial hallucination algorithms in present literature are slow, taking up to an hour with modestly sized images. We propose optimizations of the Eigentransform Super Resolution algorithm …

Calcium-Binding Proteins In The Lateral Hypothalamic Area: Spatial Relations To Hypocretin/Orexin And Melanin Concentrating Hormone, Briana E. Pinales, Paola Rojas, Claire E. Wells, Arshad M. Khan

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) neurons are critical for the coordination of feeding behavior and the autonomic control of peripheral hormone release. Although many studies have employed intracranial stimulation (chemical, electrical, optogenetic) in and around the LHA to stimulate food intake and/or control autonomic activity, the chemical phenotype(s) of the neurons responsible for these physiological functions are unknown. This is due, in part, to a lack of basic information regarding the various chemical phenotypes in the LHA and their spatial relations to one another.

We have extended our initial chemoarchitectural profiling efforts of the LHA to examine the LHA distribution of …