Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Substrate Binding And Reduction Mechanism Of Molybdenum Nitrogenase, Zhiyong Yang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As a key constituent of proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules, nitrogen is essential to all living organisms including human beings. Dinitrogen represents the largest pool of nitrogen, about 79% of the Earth’s atmosphere, yet it is unusable by most living organisms due to its inertness. There are two ways to fix this inert dinitrogen to usable ammonia. One is the industrial Haber-Bosch process, which needs to be conducted at high temperature and pressure. This process uses a lot of the non-renewable fossil fuel as the energy source. The other major pathway is the biological nitrogen fixation carried out by …

Structural And Mechanistic Investigations Of Phosphothreonine Lyase Class Of Enzymes, Alok Gopalkrishna Shenoy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are a highly pervasive mechanism in biology that is used by the cell to modulate enzymes and proteins. The presence of a phosphate group can activate or deactivate an enzyme. The phosphate group is linked to a protein by a phosphoester bond that is known to be highly stable in cytoplasmic pH range. Thus the breaking and formation of these bonds need to be effected by enzymes.

Recent discovery of the activity carried out by certain virulence related proteins (OspF released by Shigella and SpvC released by Salmonella) have resulted in a necessity to create a new …

Role Of Iron In The Mechanism Of Asbestos-Induced Apoptosis In Human Lung And Pleural Target Cells, Aleksander Baldys

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Occupational exposure to asbestos has been associated with increased incidence of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, mesothelioma of the pleura, and bronchogenic carcinoma. Although the mechanism by which asbestos causes cancer remains unknown, iron associated with asbestos is thought to play a role in the pathogenic effects of fibers.

The aim of this research was to examine and compare the asbestos-induced signaling phenomena in relevant human lung and pleural target cells, and to determine the role of iron from asbestos fibers in these events. Exposure of human airway epithelial (A549) cells, human pleural mesothelial (MET5A) cells, and normal human small airway epithelial …

Mechanism Of Two Homogeneous Reactions; Co Self Exchange And N2 Self Exchange, Alan L. Rockwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The two atom switching reactions referred to in the title were originally studied at temperatures greater than 2000°K in shock tubes by other investigators. For each reaction they proposed a direct four-center exchange mechanism in which one of the reactant molecules must be vibrationally excited, (the vibrational excitation mechanism or VEM). One of the predictions of the VEM is that molecules which are vibrationally hot but translationally cold should react through the four center transition state that leads to exchange.

Using a mercury photosensitization technique, it is shown in the present work that excitation of CO to high vibrational levels …

The Kinetics And Mechanism Of The Reaction Of Molybdenum(V) With Iodine, Oxygen And Nitrate, Ervin Park Guymon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Molybdenum compounds present a series of baffling chemical puzzles. By no means are all of these yet even clearly defined and many may never be. This complexity results from the ability of molybdenum to form six different oxidation states, which can possess three different coordination numbers. Furthermore, molybdenum compounds readily disproportionate to yield mixed valence compounds; and finally, molybdate ions readily aggregate in solution to form a variety of polyions by polymerization-condensation reactions which are controlled by pH and the concentration of the system. Molybdenum's complexity can best be summed up in the words of the late Edgar Smith who …