Biotechnology Commons^™

In Vitro Invistigation Of The Heterodimerization Between Angiotensin Ii And Thrombin Receptors, Isra Mansur Al Zamel

Biology Theses

The renin angiotensin system (RAS) through its hormone angiotensin (AngII) and the protease thrombin are two major physiological regulators of vascular and renal functions. RAS is involved in the regulation of blood pressure and water-electrolytes hemostasis, while thrombin has a crucial role in platelets activation and thrombosis. The interplay between these two systems at the physiological and the pathophysiological levels has been documented in many studies. However, such an interplay at the pharmacological level between the AngII and thrombin receptors still has not been explored. Our study aimed to explore the interplay between the AngII type 1 receptor (AT1R) and …

Molecular And Physiological Assessment Of Salinity Stress Tolerance In Transgenic Arabidopsis Lines Expressing A Solanum Tuberosum Ribosome-Binding Protein, Onoud Rashed Saeed Ali Alyammahi

Biology Theses

Ribosomal proteins are highly conserved components of basal cellular organelles, primarily associated with translation of mRNA leading to protein synthesis. Additionally, some of these proteins are known to play critical role in plants RNA metabolism during stress responses, growth, and development. In this study, transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing a ribosomal protein S27 (hereafter D26) isolated from Solanum tuberosum was subjected to NaCl-induced salinity stress conditions, to evaluate their putative stress resistance. Transgenic plants were exposed to high salinity stress, induced by 200 mM NaCl and physiological and biochemical assays were performed. The D26 transgenic plants demonstrated improved plant height and …

Identification Of Inherited And De Novo Exomic Variations In An Emirati Family With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Asmaa Samir Muhammed Abdelaziz Refaey

Biology Theses

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are a heterogenous group of disorders that affect children at any point of development and lead to mental and motor function deficits. Often, the underlying cause could be genetic and inherited. This study investigated possible genetic variations that could have led to these neurological abnormalities and other genetic disorders in an Emirati family. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was used to sequence the protein-coding regions of the genome to identify potential de novo and inherited variants that are associated with disorders in this family.

WES of DNA from the parents and ten children were performed. Several variants were …

Antibacterial Action Of Graphene Oxide Towards Bacteria And Its Toxicological Effects On Human Epidermal Keratinocytes, Thiruchelvi Pulingam

Student Works (2020-2029)

The antibacterial nature of graphene oxide (GO) has stimulated wide interest in the medical field. Although the antibacterial activity of GO towards bacteria has been well studied, a deeper understanding of the mechanism of action of GO is still lacking. The objectives of the study were to characterize the physicochemical properties of GO, to determine the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity and the mechanistic action of GO against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis and Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to determine the synergistic behaviour of GO with selected antibiotics against bacterial cells in suspension and biofilm and to determine …

Curie Temperature Engineering In A Novel 2d Analog Of Iron Ore (Hematene) Via Strain, Renu Singla, Timothy A. Hackett, Sarvesh Kumar, Jyotsna Sharma, Manish K. Kashyap

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

As a newly exfoliated magnetic 2D material from hematite, hematene is the most far-reaching ultrathin magnetic indirect bandgap semiconductor. We have carried out a detailed structural analysis of hematene via prefacing strain by means of first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Hematene in the pristine form emerges out to be a magnetic semiconductor with a bandgap of 1.0/2.0 eV for the majority/minority spin channel. The dependence of magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE), T_C, and the bandgap on compressive and tensile strains has been scanned exclusively. It is examined that T_C depends firmly on the compressive strain …

A Review Of Integrative Imputation For Multi-Omics Datasets, Meng Song, Jonathan Greenbaum, Joseph Luttrell, Weihua Zhou, Chong Wu, Hui Shen, Ping Gong, Chaoyang Zhang, Hong Wen Deng

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Multi-omics studies, which explore the interactions between multiple types of biological factors, have significant advantages over single-omics analysis for their ability to provide a more holistic view of biological processes, uncover the causal and functional mechanisms for complex diseases, and facilitate new discoveries in precision medicine. However, omics datasets often contain missing values, and in multi-omics study designs it is common for individuals to be represented for some omics layers but not all. Since most statistical analyses cannot be applied directly to the incomplete datasets, imputation is typically performed to infer the missing values. Integrative imputation techniques which make use …

Performance Analysis Of Bacterial Genome Assemblers Using Illumina Next Generation Sequencing Data, Nur ‘ Ain Mohd Ishak

Student Works (2020-2029)

The advancement of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has revolutionized the field of genomic and genetic studies. As compared to conventional methods, NGS generate comprehensive genomic data at a fraction of the cost with a higher percentage of accuracy. One of the processing and analyzing NGS data is genome assembly. De novo assembly is a process of assembling short reads into contiguous sections of sequence without a reference which is different with conventional mapping technique. De Bruijn graph is one of the assembly algorithms that are widely used for short reads sequences produced from NGS platforms. In this study, the …

Transcutaneous Energy Transmission: Can We Do It Now?, Yuriy Pya

The VAD Journal

The percutaneous driveline used in contemporary LVADs presents a continuous risk of infection for the duration of support. Minimizing infection in durable mechanical circulatory support systems requires total implantation of all components and energy transfer by means other than percutaneous drivelines. A novel coplanar energy transfer (CET) system, similar to the original transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) design, is unique by incorporating two large rings with coil-within-the-coil topology to ensure strong resonance power. The CET system consists of an internal integrated controller, a battery coupled with an internal thoracic coil ring, and the LVAD pump. External equipment includes a power transmission …

Herb-Layer Dynamics In An Old-Growth Forest: Vegetation–Environment Relationships And Response To Invasion-Related Perturbations, Taylor M. Buskey, Margaret E. Maloney, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Biology Faculty Publications

Temperate forests of eastern North America are subject to multiple invasions from non-native species that have the potential to drive long-term dynamics in biodiversity. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara and Grande) is an invasive plant in many deciduous forests, and management efforts often focus on removing this species to initiate native species restoration. Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (emerald ash borer; Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is a non-native insect pest that has caused substantial loss of ash trees (Fraxinus spp. L.) in North America. Our goal was to understand how the herbaceous layer in an old-growth forest responded to the removal of …

Changes In Lipid Profiles Of Epileptic Mouse Mode, Alicia Johnson, Ryan A. Grove, Deepak Madhavan, Cory H.T. Boone, Camila Pereira Braga, Hannah Kyllo, Kaeli K. Samson, Kristina A. Simeone, Timothy A. Simeone, Tomáš Helikar, Corrine K. Hanson, Jiri Adamec

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Introduction Approximately 1% of the world’s population is impacted by epilepsy, a chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. One-third of epileptic patients are resistant to AEDs, or have medically refractory epilepsy (MRE). One non-invasive treatment that exists for MRE includes the ketogenic diet (KD), a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Despite the KD’s success in seizure attenuation, it has a few risks and its mechanisms remain poorly understood. The KD has been shown to improve metabolism and mitochondrial function in epileptic phenotypes. Potassium channels have implications in epileptic conditions as they have dual roles as metabolic sensors and control neuronal excitation.

Objectives …

Optimization Of Building Configuration In Vertical Residential Housing Towards Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Case Study Of Tambora Flats, Jakarta, Indonesia, Rizqi Khairani Ayu, Prayitno Budi

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Population growth in Indonesia is not offset by the construction of urban facilities and infrastructure and the improvement of urban services. In densely populated urban areas with narrow residential conditions, the demand for shelter is higher, causing an increase in the price of land and housing. One of the efforts in responding to this problem in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta is to build vertical residential or flats. This study aimed to determine the level of outdoor thermal comfort of Tambora flats in Jakarta, which have air temperatures ranging 26–29°C and air humidity of 76–92%. Existing flats were simulated …

Comprehensive Assessment On The Environmental Conditions Of Abandoned And Inactive Mines In The Philippines, Samaniego Jessie, Gibaga Cris Reven, Tanciongco Alexandria, Rastrullo Rasty, Mendoza Norman, Racadio Charles Darwin

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Most abandoned and inactive mines in the Philippines pose high risks to human health and the environment due to the disturbed and exposed heavy metal-laden soils and sediments and water-filled open pit mines. Establishing these mines’ environmental conditions remains a challenge as it requires time, effort, resources, and faces a lack of funding as the economic phase of the mine has already ceased. In order to contribute to the solution on the assessment of abandoned and inactive mines, integrated methods with combined essential testing, sampling, and analyses of different environmental media present in the mine site are suggested in this …

Dynamic Changes Analysis Of Land Resource Balance In North Maluku Province, Indonesia, Faroh Elya Pratiwi Isti, Puspaningrani Fatih Cinderaswari, Reinadova Gema, Akbar Muhammad Rais, Anggraeni Novanna Dwi Septyo, Wildiyanti Oki Silvie, Kafafa Utia, Putri Ratih Ratih

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Land resources are part of nature related to the availability of water, nutrients, and food that are dynamic and play an important role in the lives of living creatures, including humans. From time to time, land use experiences changes in response to human activities that benefit their lives. This research was conducted to determine trends in land use change in North Maluku Province, Indonesia, as well as to find out the land resource balance and land carrying capacity in the province. The methods comprised a simple descriptive and quantitative analysis along with spatial analysis using GIS. The results showed that …

Water Quality Assessment And Monitoring Of Closed Rearing System Of The Sea Cucumber Holothuria Scabra, Meirinawati Hanny, Prayitno Hanif Budi, Indriana Lisa Fajar, Firdaus Muhammad, Wahyudi A'An Johan

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Sea cucumbers are an essential fishery resource. Therefore, effective aquaculture methods should be developed to achieve their optimal production. Sea cucumbers are susceptible to various environmental factors, one of which is water quality. Monitoring water quality based on physical and chemical parameters should be useful to the rearing system in aquaculture. In practical use, farmers usually monitor only temperature, salinity, and pH, neglecting the essential role of chemical parameters. This review focuses on and urges the monitoring of physical and chemical parameters. We explored the water quality parameters that may be crucial to the sea cucumber rearing system, including temperature, …

Biofilm Forming Ability Of Bacteria Isolated From Dental Caries: With Reference To Streptococcus Species, Sonali Kaustubh Ambulkar, Vidya Tale, Abhijit Jadhav, Komal Kulkarni

Future Dental Journal

Dental caries is formed by the group of microorganisms attached to a tooth surface embedded in a matrix of polymers. Biofilm plays an important role in the development of dental caries, plaque and other periodontal diseases. The present study is aimed to isolate, identify and characterize bacteria from dental caries. The ability of biofilm formation of these isolates was confirmed by Congo red agar method, Tube method and Microtitre plate method. High biofilm-forming bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus anginosus, Enterococcus faecalis and Rothia dentocariosa are the predominant biofilm forming bacteria associated with dental caries.

Letter To The Editor: The Invasive Caribbean Mytilopsis Sallei (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae): A Short Review, Marelli Dan

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This letter seeks to comment on the taxonomy of members of the genus Mytilopsis (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae) that are found as invasive species in many Asian estuarine systems.

Reply To Letter To The Editor: The Invasive Caribbean Mytilopsis Sallei (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae): A Short Review, Tan Koh Siang, Tay Teresa

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This letter provides a response to the letter concerning "The Invasive Caribbean Mytilopsis sallei (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae): a Short Review" by Tan and Tay in AJSTD 35(1–2): 133–139.

Application Of Biogasoline In A Four-Stroke Motorcycle Engine, Saputra Sutrisna, Wijaya Karna, Mudjijana

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The problems facing the world, in relation to the increasing consumption of petroleum and its limited sources, as well as pollution by fuel-related gases, such as CO, have sparked research on the application of biogasoline as an environmentally friendly alternative fuel. Our research aimed to determine engine performance through mixtures of biogasoline and gasoline to measure torque, power, and fuel consumption rate, and to determine the effect of the mixture on the level of air pollution. The biogasoline used was previously prepared from cooking oil through a Cr-zeolite-catalyzed process. The testing methods on the fuel mixture as a working substance …

Global Retrofitting Strategies For An Existing Three-Storied Rc School Building In Mandalay, Myanmar, Thwe Thiri, Thwin Nang Su Le′ Mya, Hein Ne Min

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Low to severe earthquakes occur around the world every year, damaging and causing structural failure in buildings. Consequently, seismic improvements are required for existing buildings that are vulnerable to damage by seismic forces. The objective of this study was to investigate retrofitting strategies in terms of their sustainability. Mandalay, Myanmar, was selected as the study area as it is located near the Sagaing fault, which itself is in a strong earthquake zone (seismic zone 4). A three-storied RC building with a non-seismic design was selected as a case study building. An investigation was carried out into the performance and vulnerability …

A Practical Guide To Mechanistic Systems Modeling In Biology Using A Logic-Based Approach, Anna Niarakis, Tomáš Helikar

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Mechanistic computational models enable the study of regulatory mechanisms implicated in various biological processes. These models provide a means to analyze the dynamics of the systems they describe, and to study and interrogate their properties, and provide insights about the emerging behavior of the system in the presence of single or combined perturbations. Aimed at those who are new to computational modeling, we present here a practical hands-on protocol breaking down the process of mechanistic modeling of biological systems in a succession of precise steps. The protocol provides a framework that includes defining the model scope, choosing validation criteria, selecting …