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Articles 5551 - 5580 of 13695

Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Visualizing The Invisible: A Guide To Designing, Printing, And Incorporating Dynamic 3d Molecular Models To Teach Structure–Function Relationships, Michelle Howell, Karin Van Dijk, Christine S. Booth, Tomáš Helikar, Brain A. Couch, Rebecca Roston Jan 2019

Visualizing The Invisible: A Guide To Designing, Printing, And Incorporating Dynamic 3d Molecular Models To Teach Structure–Function Relationships, Michelle Howell, Karin Van Dijk, Christine S. Booth, Tomáš Helikar, Brain A. Couch, Rebecca Roston

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Understanding the intricate relationship between macromolecular structure and function represents a central goal of undergraduate biology education (1–3). In teaching complex three-dimensional (3D) concepts, instructors typically depend on static two-dimensional (2D) textbook images or computer-based visualization software, which can lead to unintended misconceptions (4–6). While chemical and molecular kits exist, these models cannot handle the size and detail of macromolecules. Consequently, students may graduate in the life sciences without understanding how structure underlies function or acquiring skills to translate between 2D and 3D molecular models (5, 7). Building on recent technological advances, 3D printing (3DP) potentiates an era in which …

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Autophagy In Adipocyte Browning: Emerging Drug Target For Intervention In Obesity, Seung-Hyun Ro, Yura Jang, Jiyoung Bae, Isaac M. Kim, Cameron Schaecher, Zachery D. Shomo Jan 2019

Autophagy In Adipocyte Browning: Emerging Drug Target For Intervention In Obesity, Seung-Hyun Ro, Yura Jang, Jiyoung Bae, Isaac M. Kim, Cameron Schaecher, Zachery D. Shomo

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Autophagy, lipophagy, and mitophagy are considered to be the major recycling processes for protein aggregates, excess fat, and damaged mitochondria in adipose tissues in response to nutrient status-associated stress, oxidative stress, and genotoxic stress in the human body. Obesity with increased body weight is often associated with white adipose tissue (WAT) hypertrophy and hyperplasia and/or beige/brown adipose tissue atrophy and aplasia, which significantly contribute to the imbalance in lipid metabolism, adipocytokine secretion, free fatty acid release, and mitochondria function. In recent studies, hyperactive autophagy in WAT was observed in obese and diabetic patients, and inhibition of adipose autophagy through targeted …

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Dna Uptake By Type Iv Filaments, Kurt H. Piepenbrink Jan 2019

Dna Uptake By Type Iv Filaments, Kurt H. Piepenbrink

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Bacterial uptake of DNA through type IV filaments is an essential component of natural competence in numerous gram-positive and gram-negative species. Recent advances in the field have broadened our understanding of the structures used to take up extracellular DNA. Here, we review seminal experiments in the literature describing DNA binding by type IV pili, competence pili and the flp pili of Micrococcus luteus; collectively referred to here as type IV filaments. We compare the current state of the field on mechanisms of DNA uptake for these three appendage systems and describe the current mechanistic understanding of both DNA-binding and …

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Student Understanding Of Dna Structure–Function Relationships Improves From Using 3d Learning Modules With Dynamic 3d Printed Models, Michelle E. Howell, Christine S. Booth, Sharmin M. Sikich, Tomáš Helikar, Rebecca Roston, Brain A. Couch, Karin Van Dijk Jan 2019

Student Understanding Of Dna Structure–Function Relationships Improves From Using 3d Learning Modules With Dynamic 3d Printed Models, Michelle E. Howell, Christine S. Booth, Sharmin M. Sikich, Tomáš Helikar, Rebecca Roston, Brain A. Couch, Karin Van Dijk

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Understanding the relationship between molecular structure and function represents an important goal of undergraduate life sciences. Although evidence suggests that handling physical models supports gains in student understanding of structure–function relationships, such models have not been widely implemented in biochemistry classrooms. Three-dimensional (3D) printing represents an emerging cost-effective means of producing molecular models to help students investigate structure–function concepts. We developed three interactive learning modules with dynamic 3D printed models to help biochemistry students visualize biomolecular structures and address particular misconceptions. These modules targeted specific learning objectives related to DNA and RNA structure, transcription factor-DNA interactions, and DNA supercoiling dynamics. …

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Winter Hardiness Of Miscanthus (Iii): Genome‐Wide Association And Genomic Prediction For Overwintering Ability In Miscanthus Sinensis, Hongxu Dong, Lindsay V. Clark, Alexander E. Lipka, Joe E. Brummer, Katarzyna Glowacka, Megan C. Hall, Kweon Heo, Xiaoli Jin, Junhua Peng, Toshihiko Yamada, Bimal Kumar Ghimire, Ji Hye Yoo, Chang Yeon Yu, Hua Zhao, Stephen P. Long, Erik J. Sacks Jan 2019

Winter Hardiness Of Miscanthus (Iii): Genome‐Wide Association And Genomic Prediction For Overwintering Ability In Miscanthus Sinensis, Hongxu Dong, Lindsay V. Clark, Alexander E. Lipka, Joe E. Brummer, Katarzyna Glowacka, Megan C. Hall, Kweon Heo, Xiaoli Jin, Junhua Peng, Toshihiko Yamada, Bimal Kumar Ghimire, Ji Hye Yoo, Chang Yeon Yu, Hua Zhao, Stephen P. Long, Erik J. Sacks

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Overwintering ability is an important selection criterion for Miscanthus breeding in temperate regions. Insufficient overwintering ability of the currently leading Miscanthus biomass cultivar, M. ×giganteus (M×g) ‘1993–1780’, in regions where average annual minimum temperatures are −26.1°C (USDA hardiness zone 5) or lower poses a pressing need to develop new cultivars with superior cold tolerance. To facilitate breeding of Miscanthus, this study characterized phenotypic and genetic variation of overwintering ability in an M. sinensis germplasm panel consisting of 564 accessions, evaluated in field trials at three locations in North America and two in Asia. Genome‐wide association (GWA) and genomic …

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Chronic Alcohol Exposure Alters Circulating Insulin And Ghrelin Levels: Role Of Ghrelin In Hepatic Steatosis, Karuna Rasineni, Paul G. Thomes, Jacy L. Kubik, Edward N. Harris, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Carol A. Casey Jan 2019

Chronic Alcohol Exposure Alters Circulating Insulin And Ghrelin Levels: Role Of Ghrelin In Hepatic Steatosis, Karuna Rasineni, Paul G. Thomes, Jacy L. Kubik, Edward N. Harris, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Carol A. Casey

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Fatty liver is the earliest response of the liver to excessive ethanol consumption. Central in the development of alcoholic steatosis is increased mobilization of nonesterified free fatty acids (NEFAs) to the liver from the adipose tissue. In this study, we hypothesized that ethanol-induced increase in ghrelin by impairing insulin secretion, could be responsible for the altered lipid metabolism observed in adipose and liver tissue. Male Wistar rats were fed for 5–8 wk with control or ethanol Lieber-DeCarli diet, followed by biochemical analyses in serum and liver tissues. In addition, in vitro studies were conducted on pancreatic islets isolated from experimental …

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The Mitochondrial Nad+ Transporter (Ndt1) Plays Important Roles In Cellular Nad+ Homeostasis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Izabel De Souza Chaves, Elias Feitosa-Araujo, Alexandra Florian, David B. Medeiros, Paula Da Fonseca-Pereira, Lennart Charton, Elmien Heyneke, Jorge A. C. Apfata, Marcel V. Pires, Tabea Mettler-Altmann, Wagner L. Arajuo, H. Ekkehard Neuhaus, Ferdinando Palmieri, Toshihiro Obata, Andreas P. M. Weber, Nicole Linka, Alisdair R. Femie, Adriano Nunes-Nesi Jan 2019

The Mitochondrial Nad+ Transporter (Ndt1) Plays Important Roles In Cellular Nad+ Homeostasis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Izabel De Souza Chaves, Elias Feitosa-Araujo, Alexandra Florian, David B. Medeiros, Paula Da Fonseca-Pereira, Lennart Charton, Elmien Heyneke, Jorge A. C. Apfata, Marcel V. Pires, Tabea Mettler-Altmann, Wagner L. Arajuo, H. Ekkehard Neuhaus, Ferdinando Palmieri, Toshihiro Obata, Andreas P. M. Weber, Nicole Linka, Alisdair R. Femie, Adriano Nunes-Nesi

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an essential coenzyme required for all living organisms. In eukaryotic cells, the final step of NAD+ biosynthesis is exclusively cytosolic. Hence, NAD+ must be imported into organelles to support their metabolic functions. Three NAD+ transporters belonging to the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) have been biochemically characterized in plants. AtNDT1 (At2g47490), focus of the current study, AtNDT2 (At1g25380), targeted to the inner mitochondrial membrane, and AtPXN (At2g39970), located in the peroxisomal membrane. Although AtNDT1 was presumed to reside in the chloroplast …

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Acyltransferases And Methods Of Using, Edgar Cahoon, Umidjon Iskandarov, Hae Jin Kim, Jillian Collins-Silva Jan 2019

Acyltransferases And Methods Of Using, Edgar Cahoon, Umidjon Iskandarov, Hae Jin Kim, Jillian Collins-Silva

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Provided herein are novel acyltransferases and methods of using such novel acyltransferases in making medium - chain fatty acids.

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Charting A New Frontier Of Science By Integrating Mathematical Modeling To Understand And Predict Complex Biological Systems, Katharine White, Kira Mcentire, Nicole R. Buan, Kingshuk Ghosh, Lecia Robinson, Elisar Barbar Jan 2019

Charting A New Frontier Of Science By Integrating Mathematical Modeling To Understand And Predict Complex Biological Systems, Katharine White, Kira Mcentire, Nicole R. Buan, Kingshuk Ghosh, Lecia Robinson, Elisar Barbar

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Biological systems are staggeringly complex. To untangle this complexity and make predictions about biological systems is a continuous goal of biological research. One approach to achieve these goals is to emphasize the use of quantitative measures of biological processes. Advances in quantitative biology data collection and analysis across scales (molecular, cellular, organismal, ecological) has transformed how we understand, categorize, and predict complex biological systems. Simultaneously, thanks to increased computational power, mathematicians, engineers and physical scientists -- collectively termed theoreticians -- have developed sophisticated models of biological systems at different scales. But there is still a disconnect between the two fields. …

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Fatty Acid Transporter 2 Reprograms Neutrophils In Cancer, Filippo Veglia, Vladimir A. Tyurin, Maria Blasi, Alessandra De Leo, Andrew Kossenkov, Laxminarasimha Donthireddy, To Tsun Ki Jerrick, Zach Schug, Subhasree Basu, Fang Wang, Emanuela Ricciotti, Concetta C. Dirusso, Maureen E. Murphy, Robert H. Vonderheide, Paul M. Lieberman, Charles Mulligan, Brian Nam, Neil Hockstein, Gregory Masters, Michael Guarino, Cindy Lin, Yulia Nefedova, Paul N. Black, Valerian E, Kagan, Dmitry Gabrilovich Jan 2019

Fatty Acid Transporter 2 Reprograms Neutrophils In Cancer, Filippo Veglia, Vladimir A. Tyurin, Maria Blasi, Alessandra De Leo, Andrew Kossenkov, Laxminarasimha Donthireddy, To Tsun Ki Jerrick, Zach Schug, Subhasree Basu, Fang Wang, Emanuela Ricciotti, Concetta C. Dirusso, Maureen E. Murphy, Robert H. Vonderheide, Paul M. Lieberman, Charles Mulligan, Brian Nam, Neil Hockstein, Gregory Masters, Michael Guarino, Cindy Lin, Yulia Nefedova, Paul N. Black, Valerian E, Kagan, Dmitry Gabrilovich

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Polymorphonuclear myeloid derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) are pathologically activated neutrophils that are critically important for the regulation of immune responses in cancer. They contribute to the failure of cancer therapies and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. Despite the recent advances in understanding of the PMN-MDSC biology, the mechanisms responsible for pathological activation of neutrophils are not well defined, which limits selective targeting of these cells. Here, we report that mouse and human PMN-MDSC exclusively up-regulate fatty acid transporter protein 2 (FATP2). Over-expression of FATP2 in PMN-MDSC was controlled by GM-CSF, through the activation of STAT5 transcription factor. Deletion of …

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Arsenite Exposure Suppresses Adipogenesis, Mitochondrial Biogenesis And Thermogenesis Via Autophagy Inhibition In Brown Adipose Tissue, Jiyoung Bae, Yura Jang, Heejeong Kim, Kalika Mahato, Cameron Schaecher, Issac M. Kim, Eunju Kim, Seung-Hyun Ro Jan 2019

Arsenite Exposure Suppresses Adipogenesis, Mitochondrial Biogenesis And Thermogenesis Via Autophagy Inhibition In Brown Adipose Tissue, Jiyoung Bae, Yura Jang, Heejeong Kim, Kalika Mahato, Cameron Schaecher, Issac M. Kim, Eunju Kim, Seung-Hyun Ro

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Arsenite, a trivalent form of arsenic, is an element that occurs naturally in the environment. Humans are exposed to high dose of arsenite through consuming arsenite-contaminated drinking water and food, and the arsenite can accumulate in the human tissues. Arsenite induces oxidative stress, which is linked to metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. Brown adipocytes dissipating energy as heat have emerging roles for obesity treatment and prevention. therefore, understanding the pathophysiological role of brown adipocytes can provide effective strategies delineating the link between arsenite exposure and metabolic disorders. Our study revealed that arsenite significantly reduced differentiation of murine brown …

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The Structure Of Pila From Acinetobacter Baumannii Ab5075 Suggests A Mechanism For Functional Specialization In Acinetobacter Type Iv Pili, Leslie A. Ronish, Erik Lillehoj, James K. Fields, Eric J. Sundberg, Kurt Piepenbrink Jan 2019

The Structure Of Pila From Acinetobacter Baumannii Ab5075 Suggests A Mechanism For Functional Specialization In Acinetobacter Type Iv Pili, Leslie A. Ronish, Erik Lillehoj, James K. Fields, Eric J. Sundberg, Kurt Piepenbrink

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Type IV pili (T4P) are bacterial appendages composed of protein subunits, called pilins, noncovalently assembled into helical fibers. T4P are essential, in many bacterial species, for processes as diverse as twitching motility, natural competence, biofilm or microcolony formation, and host cell adhesion. The genes encoding type IV pili are found universally in the Gram-negative, aerobic, nonflagellated, and pathogenic coccobacillus Acinetobacter baumannii, but there is considerable variation in PilA, the major protein subunit, both in amino acid sequence and in glycosylation patterns. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of PilA from AB5075, a recently characterized, highly virulent isolate, at …

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Characterisation Of Cholesterolcontaining Microparticles In Autoimmunity, Shuai Shuai Hu Jan 2019

Characterisation Of Cholesterolcontaining Microparticles In Autoimmunity, Shuai Shuai Hu

Doctoral

In recent years, it has become apparent that sub-micron scale remnants of cells, called microparticles (MPs), are present in human circulation. MPs contain DNA, RNA, protein and lipids (such as cholesterol). Increased numbers of MPs are observed in autoimmune conditions such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This work aims to address the deficiency in the literature concerning MP cholesterol (MPC) by establishing reference values for MPC in a representative healthy population group, and by investigating the potential of MP cholesterol as a biomarker in autoimmunity.

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Limited Sequence Diversity Within A Population Supports Prebiotic Rna Reproduction, Ryo Mizuuchi, Niles Lehman Jan 2019

Limited Sequence Diversity Within A Population Supports Prebiotic Rna Reproduction, Ryo Mizuuchi, Niles Lehman

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The origins of life require the emergence of informational polymers capable of reproduction. In the RNA world on the primordial Earth, reproducible RNA molecules would have arisen from a mixture of compositionally biased, poorly available, short RNA sequences in prebiotic environments. However, it remains unclear what level of sequence diversity within a small subset of population is required to initiate RNA reproduction by prebiotic mechanisms. Here, using a simulation for template-directed recombination and ligation, we explore the effect of sequence diversity in a given population for the onset of RNA reproduction. We show that RNA reproduction is improbable in low …

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Impact Of Seasonal And Host-Related Factors On The Intestinal Microbiome And Cestode Community Of Sorex Cinereus And Sorex Monticola, Katelyn D. Cranmer Jan 2019

Impact Of Seasonal And Host-Related Factors On The Intestinal Microbiome And Cestode Community Of Sorex Cinereus And Sorex Monticola, Katelyn D. Cranmer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The intestinal microbiome of mammals plays a significant role in host health and response to environmental stimuli and can include both beneficial native bacteria as well as parasitic worms. In this study, I examined the intestinal cestode and bacterial communities of two closely related species of shrew, Sorex monticola and Sorex cinereus, over a six month period in 2016. Specimens were collected approximately every three weeks from May to October from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Cowles, New Mexico. A total of 79 shrews were prepared with the gastrointestinal tracts removed and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. An additional …

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Relationship Of Sociodemographic Factors With Serum Levels Of Vitamin D In A Healthy Population Of Pakistan, Khalida Iqbal, Najmul Islam, Naseema Mehboobali, Ali Asghar, Saleem Perwaiz Iqbal, Mohammad Perwaiz Iqbal Jan 2019

Relationship Of Sociodemographic Factors With Serum Levels Of Vitamin D In A Healthy Population Of Pakistan, Khalida Iqbal, Najmul Islam, Naseema Mehboobali, Ali Asghar, Saleem Perwaiz Iqbal, Mohammad Perwaiz Iqbal

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported from Pakistan. Association of sociodemographic factors with vitamin D status has received little attention in this region. Therefore, we embarked on investigating the relationship of sociodemographic factors with vitamin D levels in a healthy Pakistani population. Venous blood from 226 healthy participants (age range 19-69 years) was collected and analyzed for serum concentrations of 25(OH) vitamin D [25(OH)D] and other related biomarkers. Demographic characteristics of the study participants were collected. Vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D levels less than 20 ng/ml) was found to be 75% in this cohort. Gender, sunlight exposure and …

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Characterizing Chromosomal Aberrations In Cells Deficient For Both Atm And Msh2, Yeliz Inalman Jan 2019

Characterizing Chromosomal Aberrations In Cells Deficient For Both Atm And Msh2, Yeliz Inalman

Dissertations and Theses

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and mutS homologue 2 (MSH2) are important DNA repair proteins that participate in DNA repair pathways to maintain genomic integrity. Mice deficient for ATM and MSH2 mice are viable. However, ATM-/- mice show growth retardation, neurological defects, and spontaneous lymphomagenesis. MSH2-/- mice suffer from aggressive lymphoid tumors between two to five months of age and have increased microsatellite instability, which predisposes MSH2-/- mice to carcinomas. However, mice deficient in both ATM and MSH2 are unable to survive beyond postnatal day 21 (P21). The observed lethality in ATM-/-MSH2-/- mice may result …

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The Effects Of Ethynodiol Diacetate On Epinephrine-Treated Glial-Derived Cells, Jesse D. Hunt Jan 2019

The Effects Of Ethynodiol Diacetate On Epinephrine-Treated Glial-Derived Cells, Jesse D. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

Neuroprotective agents, including specific hormones, may play a role in preventing cellular damage following an ischemic event or brain injury. Astrocytes are specialized glial cells within the central nervous system that play roles in synapse development, blood flow regulation, extracellular homeostasis, synapse function, energy and metabolism (Sofroniew and Vinters, 2009). Research using astrocytes in cell viability studies can be beneficial in deepening our understanding of specific neuroprotective effects of various steroid hormones including progesterone. Progesterone has been shown to have neuroprotective capabilities in the central nervous system (Scarpin et ah, 2009). Although progesterone shows great therapeutic potential, effects of the …

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The Involvement Of Progesterone In Glial Cell Viability, Tracee L. Guthrie Jan 2019

The Involvement Of Progesterone In Glial Cell Viability, Tracee L. Guthrie

Theses and Dissertations

We studied the effects of ethynodiol diacetate on the viability of hydrogen peroxide stressed glial cells. We wanted to determine the extent in which varying concentration of ethynodiol diacetate affect cell viability of cultured glial cells from hydrogen peroxide toxicity. Based on previous studies, we predicted that the viability of hydrogen peroxide-stressed cells will increase with the presence of the progesterone, ethynodiol diacetate, and that cell viability will increase with increasing concentration of ethynodiol diacetate. Glial cells of 1x10° cells/well were introduced into a 96-well plate and allowed to grow for 24 hours in an incubator at 37°C and 5% …

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Giardia Lamblia Growth In Viscoelastic Fluids, Kelly Watanabe Jan 2019

Giardia Lamblia Growth In Viscoelastic Fluids, Kelly Watanabe

CMC Senior Theses

Giardia lamblia is a single-celled protozoan parasite that when ingested, causes diarrheal disease and infects 33% of people in developing countries. Previous studies observe Giardia in water-like fluids, but Giardia's infectious environment consists of viscoelastic mucus in the small intestine. Therefore, Giardia was cultured in viscoelastic fluids, and its population growth was observed in vitro. To create shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids, 0.2% and 0.4% long-chain polyacrylamide (LCPAM) was added to cell culture media. Giardia was cultured in control media, 0.2% LCPAM, and 0.4% LCPAM, and population growth was quantitatively determined over time. Increasing LCPAM concentration resulted in a solution with …

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Some Current Trends And Challenges In Philippine Aquaculture, With An Emphasis On Synergies With Biodiversity Initiatives, Ronald Allan L. Cruz, Vikas Kumar, Janice A. Ragaza Jan 2019

Some Current Trends And Challenges In Philippine Aquaculture, With An Emphasis On Synergies With Biodiversity Initiatives, Ronald Allan L. Cruz, Vikas Kumar, Janice A. Ragaza

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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The Dna Dependent Protein Kinase Catalytic Subunit Maintains Genomic Stability, Brandon Lee Sklavanitis Jan 2019

The Dna Dependent Protein Kinase Catalytic Subunit Maintains Genomic Stability, Brandon Lee Sklavanitis

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

GBM is the most common CNS derived malignancy diagnosed each year. The median survival time to date is between 14.6 to 16.7 months for patients suffering from the disease. Clinical trials and research has yet to yield a breakthrough treatment. The invasive nature of GBM to surrounding tissue typically poses a challenge for complete surgical resection of the tumor, and radiotherapy remains a predominant treatment modality. The NHEJ pathway is main repair pathway responsible for repairing lethal radiation damage. As a result, this study used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to genetically engineer two GBM cell lines lacking expression of an essential …

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Comparative Tumorigenic Amino Acid Starvation And Integrated Stress Responses In Epithelial Vs. Mesenchymal Hcc Cells With Asct2 Or Lat1 Transporter Knockouts, Stephanie Lois Cooper Woodin Jan 2019

Comparative Tumorigenic Amino Acid Starvation And Integrated Stress Responses In Epithelial Vs. Mesenchymal Hcc Cells With Asct2 Or Lat1 Transporter Knockouts, Stephanie Lois Cooper Woodin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The previously established roles of the amino acid glutamine have recently been expanded to include not only protein and nucleotide synthesis, as well as contributing significantly to energy production via mitochondrial hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate, but also the role of this molecule in the reductive carboxylation of α-ketoglutarate resulting in carbon atoms used in cell membrane biosynthesis. Additionally, glutamine participates in maintaining glutathione homeostasis as well as regulation of anabolic signaling. Given its central role in anabolic processes, glutamine is preferentially transported into human cancer cells at a significant rate as compared to normal cells. This distinction has prompted …

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Aligning Best Practices In Student Success And Career Preparedness: An Exploratory Study To Establish Pathways To Stem Careers For Undergraduate Minority Students, Kimberly D. Kendricks, Anthony A. Arment, K. V. Nedunuri, Cadance A. Lowell Jan 2019

Aligning Best Practices In Student Success And Career Preparedness: An Exploratory Study To Establish Pathways To Stem Careers For Undergraduate Minority Students, Kimberly D. Kendricks, Anthony A. Arment, K. V. Nedunuri, Cadance A. Lowell

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Undergraduate minority retention and graduation rates in STEM disciplines is a nationally recognized challenge for workforce growth and diversification. The Benjamin Banneker Scholars Program (BBSP) was a five-year undergraduate study developed to increase minority student retention and graduation rates at an HBCU. The program structure utilized a family model as a vehicle to orient students to the demands of college. Program activities integrated best K-12 practices and workforce skillsets to increase academic preparedness and career readiness. Findings revealed that a familial atmosphere improved academic performance, increased undergraduate research, and generated positive perceptions of faculty mentoring. Retention rates among BBSP participants …

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From The Laboratory To The Vineyard—Evolution Of The Measurement Of Grape Composition Using Nir Spectroscopy Towards High-Throughput Analysis, Aoife Power, Vi Khanh Truong, James Chapman, Daniel Cozzolino Jan 2019

From The Laboratory To The Vineyard—Evolution Of The Measurement Of Grape Composition Using Nir Spectroscopy Towards High-Throughput Analysis, Aoife Power, Vi Khanh Truong, James Chapman, Daniel Cozzolino

Articles

Compared to traditional laboratory methods, spectroscopic techniques (e.g., near infrared, hyperspectralimaging)provideanalystswithaninnovativeandimprovedunderstandingofcomplex issuesbydeterminingseveralchemicalcompoundsandmetabolitesatonce,allowingforthecollection of the sample “fingerprint”. These techniques have the potential to deliver high-throughput options for the analysis of the chemical composition of grapes in the laboratory, the vineyard and before or during harvest, to provide better insights of the chemistry, nutrition and physiology of grapes. Faster computers, the development of software and portable easy to use spectrophotometers and data analytical methods allow for the development of innovative applications of these techniques for the analyses of grape composition.

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Mapping The Effects Of 5’ Untranslated Region Deletions On Translation Of 3a In Bmv Rna3, Courtney Marie Bozman Jan 2019

Mapping The Effects Of 5’ Untranslated Region Deletions On Translation Of 3a In Bmv Rna3, Courtney Marie Bozman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Brome mosaic virus (BMV) is a positive sense, single-stranded RNA virus that infects a wide array of plant hosts globally including: wheat, oats, maize, barley, and rye. Since its discovery in the 1940s, BMV has served as a model organism in uncovering the modalities of viral infectivity, composition, translation, and replication. In many viruses, it is typically imperative to recruit cellular machinery to produce viral proteins as their coding capacity is limited. Therefore, there are sequences and structures within the leader sequences allow them to be competitive with the eukaryotic mRNAs. Although BMV has been thoroughly researched in these other …

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Regulator Of G Protein Signaling-12 (Rgs12) In Dopaminergic And Kappa Opioid Receptor-Dependent Signaling And Behavior, Joshua David Gross Jan 2019

Regulator Of G Protein Signaling-12 (Rgs12) In Dopaminergic And Kappa Opioid Receptor-Dependent Signaling And Behavior, Joshua David Gross

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Dopaminergic neurotransmission is critically involved in the etiology and treatment of many psychiatric and neurological disorders. One modulator of dopaminergic neurotransmission is the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) -- a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is densely expressed within dopaminergic neurons and circuits. GPCRs are tightly regulated by a variety of intracellular signaling molecules, including Regulator of G Protein Signaling (RGS) proteins. Canonically, RGS proteins act as GTPase accelerating proteins (GAPs) on GTP-bound Ga subunits following GPCR activation, thereby hastening the rate at which GPCR-mediated G protein signaling is terminated. However, some RGS proteins exhibit more complex mechanisms of action on …

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Avoiding Adverse Effects: New Ideas In Drug Discovery For Targeting Pparγ, Trey M. Patton Jan 2019

Avoiding Adverse Effects: New Ideas In Drug Discovery For Targeting Pparγ, Trey M. Patton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) has been a drug target to treat type 2 diabetes for the last 20 years when rosiglitazone and pioglitazone were approved by the FDA in 1999. While effective at increasing insulin sensitivity, these drugs cause serious adverse effects due to their full agonist characteristics. For that reason, drug discovery efforts have attempted to reduce or prevent the amount of agonist character of new PPARγ targeting ligands. Unfortunately, there have been no new FDA approved drugs for the receptor. There is a need for new ideas to produce better quality pharmaceuticals that lessen the impact of …

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Exploration Of Thiol-Michael Addition Bioconjugation To Extend Polymers Of A Protein-Based Hydrogel, Elaine Wallin Smith Jan 2019

Exploration Of Thiol-Michael Addition Bioconjugation To Extend Polymers Of A Protein-Based Hydrogel, Elaine Wallin Smith

Honors Theses

Hydrogels have been explored for many biomedical applications, including targeted, in situ drug delivery to avoid the negative side effects associated with systemic delivery. In our work, we are exploiting the high affinity, calcium-dependent binding between calmodulin and its target peptides to create a biomaterial for in situ, extracellular drug delivery. Genes were engineered to make two protomers, Calmodulin Collagen-Like Protein (CCLP) and Peptide Collagen-Like Protein (PCLP), that will spontaneously self-assemble in situ due to the high Ca2+ concentration in the extracellular space and provide tunable, targeted drug delivery in a biocompatible hydrogel. One important factor that would dictate the …

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Benchmark Structures And Harmonic Vibrational Frequencies Of Hydrated Halide Ions: X– (H2o)N, X = F, Cl, Br, And I (Where N = 1 – 4), Caroline Anne Rader Jan 2019

Benchmark Structures And Harmonic Vibrational Frequencies Of Hydrated Halide Ions: X– (H2o)N, X = F, Cl, Br, And I (Where N = 1 – 4), Caroline Anne Rader

Honors Theses

This study extends our efforts to generate benchmark structures and harmonic vi- brational frequencies from neutral hydrogen bonded clusters to solvated ions. The analytical gradients and Hessians developed for the N-body:Many-body integrated QM:QM method facilitate the computation of benchmark-quality properties near the CCSD(T) complete basis set limit. In this work, a series of solvated halide ion sys- tems (X−(H2O)n clusters, where X = F, Cl, Br and I and n = 1 to 4) is being characterized with the MP2 and 2-body:Many-body CCSD(T):MP2 (2b:Mb) meth- ods. For n ≥ 2, the latter technique uses the high-level CCSD(T) method to evaluate …

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