Biochemistry Commons^™

Ets-Core Binding Factor: A Common Composite Motif In Antigen Receptor Gene Enhancers, Batu Erman, Marta Cortes, Barbara S. Nikolajczyk, Nancy A. Speck, Ranjan Sen

Dartmouth Scholarship

A tripartite domain of the murine immunoglobulin μ heavy-chain enhancer contains the μA and μB elements that bind ETS proteins and the μE3 element that binds leucine zipper-containing basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH-zip) factors. Analysis of the corresponding region of the human μ enhancer revealed high conservation of the μA and μB motifs but a striking absence of the μE3 element. Instead of bHLH-zip proteins, we found that the human enhancer bound core binding factor (CBF) between the μA and μB elements; CBF binding was shown to be a common feature of both murine and human enhancers. Furthermore, mutant enhancers that bound …

Probing The Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding Of Water Molecules At The Ccl4/Water Interface In The Presence Of Charges Soluble Surfactant, D. E. Gragson, G. L. Richmond

Chemistry and Biochemistry

The molecular structure and hydrogen bonding of water molecules at the CCl₄/water interface in the presence of a charged soluble surfactant has been explored in this study using vibrational sum frequency generation. By examining OH stretching modes that are highly sensitive to the local hydrogen bonding environment it is found that water molecules at the CCl₄/water interface both in the presence and absence of a charged soluble surfactant are predominantly in a tetrahedral arrangement much like the structure ofice. Isotopic dilution studies have been employed to further characterize this icelike interfacial structure. Ablueshift ofapproximately120 cm^{-1 …}

Liquid-Liquid Immiscibility In Lipid Monolayers, John P. Hagen, Harden M. Mcconnell

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Some binary lipid mixtures form coexisting liquid phases when spread at the air/water interface. This work describes the pressure–composition phase diagrams of binary mixtures of four unsaturated phosphatidylcholines with dihydrocholesterol. These four binary mixtures have critical compositions of approximately fifty mole percent, and average critical exponents of 0.25±0.07. The data can also be approximated by a regular solution thermodynamic model, yielding parameters for the non-ideality of these mixtures.

A Fluid In Contact With A Semipermeable Surface: Second-Order Integral Equation Approach, Douglas Henderson, Pawel Bryk, Stefan Sokolowski

Faculty Publications

An integral equation approach for a binary hard-sphere mixture interacting with a planar semipermeable wall (membrane) is formulated by using the second-order nonuniform or pair Ornstein–Zernike equation as well as the usual singlet Ornstein–Zernike equation. The results of the pair theory are compared with those obtained from the singlet theory and with computer simulation data. The pair approach is more accurate than the singlet theory.

Emissions From Smoldering Combustion Of Biomass Measured By Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Robert J. Yokelson, Ronald A. Susott, Darold E. Ward, James J. Reardon, David W. T. Griffith

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Biomass samples from a diverse range of ecosystems were burned in the Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory open combustion facility. Midinfrared spectra of the nascent emissions were acquired at several heights above the fires with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) coupled to an open multipass cell. In this report, the results from smoldering combustion during 24 fires are presented including production of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, ethene, ethyne, propene, formaldehyde, 2-hydroxyethanal, methanol, phenol, acetic acid, formic acid, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and carbonyl sulfide. These were the dominant products observed, and many have significant influence on atmospheric chemistry at the …

Speciation Of Selenium In Serum, Alice Tsapayi-Musapatike

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

We investigated the separation of selenoprotein P and extracellular (serum) glutathione peroxidase using a concanavalin A affinity column. We were able to show that the method does not adequately separate serum glutathione peroxidase from selenoprotein P because human glutathione peroxidase binds strongly to the column. We also found that albumin can interfere with measurement serum of glutathione peroxidase activity when hydrogen peroxide is used as the substrate. When t-butyl hydroperoxide was used as the substrate, less than 10% of the measured activity was due to the presence of albumin. We also found that the pH of the elution buffer plays …

Type Ii Estrogen Binding-Site Agonist: The Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of The Enantiomers Of Methyl-Para-Hydroxyphenyllactate (Mehpla), Lester G. Pretlow

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The function of the type II estrogen binding site (EBS) has yet to be determined. However, a high affinity ligand for the binding site has been identified through HPLC and GC-MS. This ligand, MeHPLA, bears a structural relationship to a group of compounds called "phytoestrogens" which, along with MeHPLA, have been observed to suppress the cellular proliferation of estrogen sensitive MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro. Additionally, MeHPLA has been observed to suppress the growth of rat uteri in vivo. The high affinity of MeHPLA for the type II EBS suggests that this interaction is responsible for the observed suppression …

The Cellular And Molecular Dynamics Of The Queuosine Modification In Transfer Rna: Definition, Modulation, Deficiencies And Effect Of The Queuosine Modification System, Rana C. Morris

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The presence of the queuosine modification in the wobble position of tRNA^asn, tRN^asp, tRNA^his, and tRNA^tyr is associated with a decrease in cellular growth rate, an increase in the ability to withstand environmental stress, and differentiation of pleuripotent cells into mature phenotypes. The loss of this normal modification is strongly correlated with neoplastic transformation and tumor progression of a wide variety of cancers.

The "normal" system for formation of the queuosine modification in tRNA was studied in human fibroblast cell cultures and in mouse, rat and human liver tissues. The queuosine modification system …

The Effect Of Growth Hormone Release On Plasma And Erythrocyte Selenium And Zinc Levels In Children, Maria Estela Legal De Reid

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Research studies have suggested that selenium may be important in the release of growth hormone, GH. A selenium-containing amino-acid residue, selenocysteine, has been identified as part of the active site of the three isoenzymes (Type I, II and III iodothyronine 5' -deiodinase) responsible for the synthesis of active thyroid hormone, T_3, which is reported to stimulate GH secretion. The importance of zinc in growth is well- documented because of its involvement in transcription and expression of GH and its intermediary, insulin growth factor I or IGF- I. Thus, selenium and zinc levels in plasma may be altered in response …

Thermodynamics Of Oligoarginines Binding To Rna And Dna., David Mascotti, Timothy Lohman

David P. Mascotti

These results suggest that hydrogen bonding of arginine to the phosphate backbone of the nucleic acids contributes to the increased stability of these complexes.

Distribution Of Endosomal, Lysosomal And Mhc Markers In A Monocytic Cell Line Infected With Chlamydia Psittaci, David M. Ojcius, Raymond Hellio, Alice Dautry-Varsat

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

The intracellular fate of Chlamydia psittaci during infection of a monocytic cell line, THP1, was characterized. Cytochalasin D inhibited phagocytosis of latex beads but had no effect on infection by C. psittaci, and vacuoles expressed the transferrin receptor, suggesting accessibility to the endocytic pathway. Early Chlamydia-containing vacuoles expressed major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules, and most vacuoles fused with host cell lysosomes, since they expressed LAMP-1 and had acidic pHs. In cells prestimulated with gamma interferon, vacuoles also expressed MHC class II molecules, suggesting that the monocytes might effectively process Chlamydia-derived antigens for presentation by MHC class I and …

Grand Canonical Monte Carlo And Modified Singlet Integral Equations For The Density Profile Of A Yukawa Fluid Near A Planar Wall, Douglas Henderson, Wilmer Olivares-Rivas, Leo Degreve, Jacqueline Quintana

Faculty Publications

Results for the density profile for Yukawa molecules near a hard wall and an exponential attractive wall are presented for Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations, for the singlet hypernetted chain (HNC) integral equation and for a modified version of the Lovett–Mou–Buff–Wertheim (LMBW-1) which uses the exact contact value theorem. The results of the standard singlet HNC are quite poor. If the LMBW equation is modified (but still using the bulk direct correlation function) the results at high temperature become reasonable. However, the results at low temperatures, close to the bulk coexistence curve, are only a partial improvement. The contact …

Laser-Initiated Decomposition Products Of Indocyanine Green (Icg) And Carbon Black Sensitized Biological Tissues, John M. Kokosa, Andrzej Przyjazny, Kenneth Eugene Bartels, Massoud Motamedi, Donald J. Hayes, David B. Wallace, Christopher J. Frederickson

Chemistry & Biochemistry Publications

Organic dyes have found increasing use a s sensitizers in laser surgical procedures, due to their high optical absorbances. Little is known, however, about the nature of the degradation products formed when these dyes are irradiated with a laser. Previous work in our laboratories has shown that irradiation of polymeric and biological tissues with CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers produces a host of volatile and semivolatile by-products, some of which are known to be potential carcinogens. This work focuses on the identification of the chemical by-products formed by diode laser and Nd:YAG laser irradiation of indocyanine green (ICG) and carbon black …

Fish Primary Cultures For Toxicity And Pathological Studies, Maria Lyons Alcantara

Doctoral

In this study, epithelial primary cultures from the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were developed as a model for environmental effects assessment. Cadmium was used as representative of heavy metals. The possible use of this system for pathological studies was also evaluated. The differential cytotoxic effects of cadmium on fish and mammalian epithelial cells in established and primary culture wee assessed by looking at the reduction of colony-forming ability and the reduction in the extent of growth. The influence of medium composition on the toxicity of cadmium was also studied using serum-free and serum-containing media. The experiments using immortalised cell lines …

Binding Of Cobalt (Iii) To Nucleic Acids Via Reaction With [Co(Nh3)5(Oh2)]3+, David M. Calderone

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Endogenous Alkylglycerol Functions As A Mediator Of Protein Kinase C Activity And Cell Proliferation, Fritz G. Buchanan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To explore the possibility that 1-O-alkyl-sn-glycerol (alkylglycerol) may serve a regulatory role in the control of cell proliferation or PKC activity, we examined the ability of alkylglycerol to influence PKC activity and subcellular distribution as well as the ability of alkylglycerol to effect cell proliferation. MDCK cells grown to confluence show a loss of PKC activity associated with the membrane, as reported in fibroblasts. Preconfluent cultures of MDCK cells have a high level of PKC activity associated with the membrane. However, treatment of preconfluent cultures with alkylglycerol causes a reduction of PKC activity. A similar inhibition was observed with alkylglycerol …

Ac-Mode Atomic Force Microscope Imaging In Air And Solutions With A Thermally Driven Bimetallic Cantilever Probe, Andrew C. Hillier, Allen J. Bard

Andrew C. Hillier

An ac imaging mode for atomic force microscopy ~AFM! has been developed that employs a thermally driven bimetallic cantilever to sense surface topography. Oscillations are induced in a composite cantilever, comprising a Si3N4 layer and Au overcoat, by local heating with a resistive wire heater placed in close proximity to the cantilever. Cantilever bending occurs upon heating due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the Si3N4 and Au layers. The magnitude of this bending is a function of the heat input, the cantilever geometry, the frequency of the excitation, and the thermal properties of the surrounding medium. A …

Las Vegas Wash Water Quality Monitoring Program: 1996 Report Of Findings, Richard A. Roline, James J. Sartoris, U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey

Publications (WR)

Las Vegas Wash, a natural wash east of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, carries stormwater, groundwater drainage, and sewage effluent from three sewage treatment plants to Lake Mead. The Wash provides nearly the only surface water outlet for the entire 2,193 mi² of Las Vegas Valley. A drainage area of 1,586 mi² contributes directly to the Wash through surface flow which is channeled to Las Vegas Bay of Lake Mead, while drainage of the remaining 607 mi² is presumably subsurface and may drain toward Las Vegas Wash.

In the 1930's and 1940's, sewage treatment plants were …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Modified Silica Gel As An Intermediate In The Generation Of Gaseous Standard Mixtures, M. Prokopowicz, K. Lewandowska, A. Skwierawska, Andrzej Przyjazny, Jan F. Biernat, J. Namiesnik

Chemistry & Biochemistry Publications

A possibility of extending analytical applications of chemically modified silica gels is described. This involves their utilization for the generation of gaseous standard mixtures consisting of methyl chloride as the analyte and nitrogen as a carrier gas to be used for the calibration of the GC-FID system. N-methylmorpholine was chemically bonded to the propylsilylated surface of silica gel forming chloride of an appropriate immobilized compound which, under certain conditions, undergoes thermal decomposition yielding a single, volatile component (methyl chloride). Such a method of generating specific amounts of a standard substance can be used both for a single point calibration and …

Endosome To Golgi Retrieval Of The Vacuolar Protein Sorting Receptor, Vps10p, Requires The Function Of The Vps29, Vps30, And Vps35 Gene Products, Matthew N. J. Seaman, Eric G. Marcusson, Joan Lin-Cereghino, Scott D. Emr

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Mutations in the S. cerevisiae VPS29 and VPS30 genes lead to a selective protein sorting defect in which the vacuolar protein carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) is missorted and secreted from the cell, while other soluble vacuolar hydrolases like proteinase A (PrA) are delivered to the vacuole. This phenotype is similar to that seen in cells with mutations in the previously characterized VPS10 and VPS35 genes. Vps10p is a late Golgi transmembrane protein that acts as the sorting receptor for soluble vacuolar hydrolases like CPY and PrA, while Vps35p is a peripheral membrane protein which cofractionates with membranes enriched in Vps10p. The …

A Search For The Cause Of Excess Thiol Sensitivity In A Mutant Of Escherichia Coli, Hongying Zeng

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The subject of this study was a search for the biochemical basis of hypersensitivity to thiols in a mutant of Escherichia coli (IS16). A 1.3 kb chromosomal fragment from E. coli (introduced into the mutant on a plasmid) successfully abolished the hypersensitivity. This fragment contained only one intact gene, ubiX, which codes for polyprenyl-4-hydroxybenzoatelyase. The decarboxylation of octaprenyl-4- hydroxybenzoate in E. coli is catalyzed not only by the ubiX protein but also by the product of ubiD. The ubiquinone content of IS16 was only 2% of that of its parent strain, while the complementing plasmid increased it …

Salsalate Inhibition Of Thyroid Hormone Transport : A Model Of The Euthyroid Sick Syndrome, Ron Wang

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Multiple alterations of serum thyroid hormone metabolism have been noted in essentially all severe systemic nonthyroidal illnesses (Nil). This spectrum of abnormalities is collectively termed the “euthyroid sick syndrome”. One putative mechanism is the presence of circulating thyroid hormone binding inhibitors. Salsalate and salicylate are known to be such inhibitors. The objectives of this study are: to investigate the thyroid hormone changes induced in healthy people by salsalate, and to investigate the mechanisms of salsalate action, as a model for the euthyroid sick syndrome. This dissertation includes: (1) Study of the effect of salsalate on serum thyroid hormone levels in …

A Heterodimer Of Thioredoxin And Ib2 Cooperates With Sec18p (Nsf) To Promote Yeast Vacuole Inheritance, Zuoyu Xu, Andreas Mayer, Eric Muller, William Wickner

Dartmouth Scholarship

Early in S phase, the vacuole (lysosome) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae projects a stream of vesicles and membranous tubules into the bud where they fuse and establish the daughter vacuole. This inheritance reaction can be studied in vitro with isolated vacuoles. Rapid and efficient homotypic fusion between saltwashed vacuoles requires the addition of only two purified soluble proteins, Sec18p (NSF) and LMA1, a novel heterodimer with a thioredoxin subunit. We now report the identity of the second subunit of LMA1 as IB2, a previously identified cytosolic inhibitor of vacuolar proteinase B. Both subunits are needed for efficient vacuole inheritance in vivo …

Singlet-Oxygen-Mediated Inactivation Of Acetylcholinesterase: A Comparison Of Purified Enzyme In Solution And Enzyme Bound To K562 Leukemia Cells, Gail D. Deadwyler

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Molecular Engineering Of Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers By Living Polymerizations, Coleen Pugh, Alan L. Kiste

Chemistry and Biochemistry

“Living” anionic, cationic, metalloporphyrin and ring-opening metathesis polymerizations have been used to prepare well-defined side-chain liquid crystalline homopolymers, block and graft copolymers and statistical copolymers. This paper analyzes their successes and failures by reviewing the mechanistic aspects and experimental conditions of each type of polymerization, and identifies other classes of mesogenic monomers that could be polymerized in a controlled manner in the future. The emerging structure/property relationships are then identified using well-defined SCLCPs in which only one structural feature is varied while all others remain constant.

The thermal transitions of liquid crystalline polymethacrylates, polynorbomenes and poly(viny1 ether)s reach their limiting …

Identification Of The Adp-L-Glycero-D-Manno-Heptose-6-Epimerase (Rfad) And Heptosyltransferase Ii (Rfaf) Biosynthesis Genes From Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae 2019, W A. Nichols, B W. Gibson, William Melaugh, N G. Lee, M Sunshine, M A. Apicella

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Haemophilus influenzae is an important human pathogen. The lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of H. influenzae has been implicated as a virulence determinant. To better understand the assembly of LOS in nontypeable H. influenzae (NtHi), we have cloned and characterized the rfaD and rfaF genes of NtHi 2019, which encode the ADP-L-glycero-D-manno-heptose-6-epimerase and heptosyltransferase II enzymes, respectively. This cloning was accomplished by the complementation of Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis gene mutants. These deep rough mutants are novobiocin susceptible until complemented with the appropriate gene. In this manner, we are able to use novobiocin resistance to select for specific NtHi LOS inner core …

Characterization Of A Transposon Tn916-Generated Mutant Of Haemophilus Ducreyi 35000 Defective In Lipooligosaccharide Biosynthesis, B W. Gibson, A A. Campagnari, William Melaugh, M A. Apicella, S Grass, Jing Wang, Katherine L. Palmer, R S. Munson

Chemistry Faculty Publications

To define the role of the surface lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of Haemophilus ducreyi in the pathogenesis of chancroid, Tn916 mutants of H. ducreyi 35000 defective in expression of the murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3F11 epitope on H. ducreyi LOS were identified by immunologic screening. One mutant, designated 1381, has an LOS which lacks the MAb 3F11 epitope and migrates with an increased mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The gene disrupted by the Tn916 element in strain 1381 was identified by cloning the sequences flanking the Tn916 element. The sequences were then used to probe a lambda DASHII genomic library. …

Sodium Nitrite Alone Protects The Brain O _I_ Microsomal Ca -Atpase Against Potassium Cyanide-Induced Neurotoxicity In Rats, Odutayo O. Odunuge, G.. A. Adenuga

Faculty Publications

The effect of a short-term oral administration of potassium cyanide (KCN) (200 ppm in diet) with or without sodium nitrite (NaNO2) pretreatment on rat brain microsomal Ca2* ATPase was investigated. The specific activity value of the enzyme significantly decreased (p<0.05) by 50% compared with control and by 63% for KCN-treated rats compared with KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO;,. There was no significant difference at the h = 0.05 level between the values obtained for the control and KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO,. These results show both that feeding lowers brain microsomal Ca2f-ATPase activity and that NaNO, has a protective role (antidote function) in that respect.

Rna Base-Amino Acid Interaction Strengths Derived From Structures And Sequences, Brooke Lustig, S Arora, R L. Jernigan

Faculty Publications, Chemistry

We investigate RNA base-amino acid interactions by counting their contacts in structures and their implicit contacts in various functional sequences where the structures can be assumed to be preserved. These frequencies are cast into equations to extract relative interaction energetics. Previously we used this approach in considering the major groove interactions of DNA, and here we apply it to the more diverse interactions observed in RNA. Structures considered are the three different tRNA synthetase complexes, the U1A spliceosomal protein with an RNA hairpin and the BIV TARTat complex. We use binding data for the base frequencies for the seryl, aspartyl …

Diet And Growth Of Larval And Juvenile Grass Pickerel, Esox Americanus Vermiculatus, And Central Mudminnow, Umbra Limi, In The Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, Cabell County, West Virginia, Erica Midkiff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The grass pickerel, Esox americanus vermiculatus, is listed as Undetermined on the Vertebrate Species List of Concern in West Virginia. The central mudminnow, Umbra limi, is a disjunct population in Green Bottom Swamp. The lentic, vegetated areas that are required for spawning for the grass pickerel and the central mudminnow have been reduced by residential, agricultural, and industrial developments. Green Bottom Swamp, a naturally occurring wetland of 58 ha, and a nearby mitigated wetland of 29 ha, provides spawning habitat for the grass pickerel and the mudminnow. Fishes were collected in beds of Potamogetan crispus and Ceratophyllum demursum …