Determination Of Epigallocatechin Gallate (Egcg) And Antibacterial Activities Of Commercially Available Tanzanian Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis),
2023
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania P.O. Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Determination Of Epigallocatechin Gallate (Egcg) And Antibacterial Activities Of Commercially Available Tanzanian Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis), Raphael J Shedafa, Joseph Sempombe, Ramadhan So Nondo, Eliangiringa Kaale, Mary Temu, Peter Imming
Tanzania Journal of Science
This paper presents the results of the antibacterial activity of green tea extract (Camellia sinensis) against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 708903). Quantitative and qualitative measurements of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) have also been reported. The analysis by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) revealed the presence of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in the green tea extracts ranging from 13.16 to 18.64 mg/g. Crude extracts GT 01–GT 03 inhibited a greater number of microorganisms and presented the lowest values of MIC against Staphylococcus aureus (0.625 mg/mL), Escherichia coli (0.625 mg/mL), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.25 mg/mL). …
Synthesis, Characterization And Antimicrobial Properties Of Mixed-Ligand Complexes Of Some Metal(Ii) Ions With Barbituric Acid And 1,10-Phenanthroline Ligands,
2023
Department of Chemistry, Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria
Synthesis, Characterization And Antimicrobial Properties Of Mixed-Ligand Complexes Of Some Metal(Ii) Ions With Barbituric Acid And 1,10-Phenanthroline Ligands, Kayode Taiwo Ishola, Oluwabiyi James Olaoye, Mary Adelaide Oladipo, Omobola Ajibike Odedokun, Oyebanji Oluseun Aboyeji
Tanzania Journal of Science
Many pathogenic organisms have developed resistance to many antibiotics, which leads to an increase in the spread of many microbial infections. There is an urgent need to find more effective drugs to curb widespread transmission. Hence, this study synthesized and evaluated the antimicrobial activities of mixed-ligand complexes of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), and Zn(II) ions with barbituric acid and 1,10 phenanthroline ligands in effort to find more effective antibiotics. The complexes were characterized using elemental analysis, metal analysis, melting points, solubility tests, and spectroscopic analyses (IR and UV-visible). The antimicrobial activities of the complexes were evaluated against two gram-positive bacteria …
Endophytic Potential Of Entomopathogenic Fungi For The Remediation Of Wastewater,
2023
Institute of Plant Protection, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan
Endophytic Potential Of Entomopathogenic Fungi For The Remediation Of Wastewater, Huda Bilal, Hasnain Raza, Sana Sarfaraz, Danyal Haider Khan
Journal of Bioresource Management
Phytoremediation has the potential to significantly reduce water contamination caused by excessive harmful chemicals. The degradative properties of fungi are used in fungal phytoremediation to eliminate or neutralise the hazardous pollutants present in water. The goal of the current study was to endophytize water lettuce with the two entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopilae and Trichoderma harazium. The plant is inoculated with the fungus using the root-dipping procedure. There were two main treatments and a control all with five replications. The analysis of plant and wastewater were analyzed initially like frequency of fungus remained in plant weight, root length and for …
The Pros Of Changing Trna Identity,
2023
Chapman University
The Pros Of Changing Trna Identity, Michael Ibba
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
The notion that errors in protein synthesis are universally harmful to the cell has been questioned by findings that suggest such mistakes may sometimes be beneficial. However, how often these beneficial mistakes arise from programmed changes in gene expression as opposed to reduced accuracy of the translation machinery is still unclear. A new study published in JBC shows that some bacteria have beneficially evolved the ability to mistranslate specific parts of the genetic code, a trait that allows improved antibiotic resistance.
Acetate-Encapsulated Linolenic Acid Liposomes Reduce Sars-Cov-2 And Rsv Infection,
2023
University of South Florida
Acetate-Encapsulated Linolenic Acid Liposomes Reduce Sars-Cov-2 And Rsv Infection, Andrew R. Mcgill
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an ongoing pandemic-endemic. In the United States, it remains the third leading cause of death in 2022. SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus, has a genome prone to rapid mutation, generating variant species capable of resisting therapies and vaccination efforts. However, it has been estimated that more than 40% of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be asymptomatic, which calls into question any biological differences between the asymptomatic and afflicted groups. Additionally, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the most significant cause of bronchiolitis and asthma in neonates, with an increasing burden on the …
Enhancing Lovastatin Biosynthesis In Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus Ostreatus) Using Phytohormones,
2023
Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
Enhancing Lovastatin Biosynthesis In Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus Ostreatus) Using Phytohormones, Fransisca Astrid Mustafa, Mamat Kandar, I Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha
Makara Journal of Science
The biosynthesis of lovastatin, the anti-cholesterol compound, in oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), has the potential to be enhanced by utilizing phytohormones, which activate the expression of certain genes. This research aimed to determine the best type and concentration of phytohormone among auxin, gibberellin, and cytokinin, as well as the best mycelial colonization percentage in F2 medium to realize the greatest increase in lovastatin biosynthesis in oyster mushrooms. Lovastatin was extracted from the fruiting bodies and mycelia and analyzed by spectrophotometry. The analysis of CYP450 linked to lovastatin biosynthesis was conducted by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using samples containing …
Symbiotic Ucyn-A Strains Co-Occurred With El Niño, Relaxed Upwelling, And Varied Eukaryotes Over 10 Years Off Southern California,
2023
University of Southern California
Symbiotic Ucyn-A Strains Co-Occurred With El Niño, Relaxed Upwelling, And Varied Eukaryotes Over 10 Years Off Southern California, Colette Fletcher-Hoppe, Yi-Chun Yeh, Yubin Raut, J. L. Weissman, Jed A. Fuhrman
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Biological nitrogen fixation, the conversion of N2 gas into a bioavailable form, is vital to sustaining marine primary production. Studies have shifted beyond traditionally studied tropical diazotrophs. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (or UCYN-A) has emerged as a focal point due to its streamlined metabolism, intimate partnership with a haptophyte host, and broad distribution. Here, we explore the environmental parameters that govern UCYN-A’s presence at the San Pedro Ocean Time-series (SPOT), its host specificity, and statistically significant interactions with non-host eukaryotes from 2008-2018. 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequences were amplified by “universal primers” from monthly samples and resolved into Amplicon …
Wildfires Disturb The Natural Skin Microbiota Of Terrestrial Salamanders,
2023
Dominican University of California
Wildfires Disturb The Natural Skin Microbiota Of Terrestrial Salamanders, Lubna Mulla, Obed Hernandez-Gomez
Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship
Environmental change can disturb natural associations between wildlife and microbial symbionts, in many cases to the detriment of host health. We used a North American terrestrial salamander system to assess how the skin microbiota of amphibians responds to wildfires. In northern California's redwood/oak forests, we assessed how recent wildfires affected the skin microbiota of three different salamander species (Taricha sp., Batrachoseps attenuatus, and Ensatina eschscholtzii) over two different sampling seasons in 2018 and 2021. We found species-specific responses to wildfire disturbance on the alpha diversity of the skin microbiota of terrestrial salamanders, although burning in general altered the composition of …
Ebi2,
2023
Brigham Young University
Ebi2, Rodney Till, Dr. Brian Poole
Journal of Undergraduate Research
My project this year was a great learning experience and helped me to better understand the complexity of lab work, as well as, the tools used in troubleshooting problems; including collaboration with lab researchers and professors. I learned about flow cytometry and how to analyze migration data. I also learned how to do transfections with HEK cells and how to separate B cells from a fresh sample of blood. I was thankful that I could spend time doing lab work because it’s the best teaching environment I know of in academia. I came across genuine problems and studied topics with …
Examination Of The Role Of The Lana Protein In Persistence Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Infections,
2023
Brigham Young University
Examination Of The Role Of The Lana Protein In Persistence Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Infections, Marshall Sheide, Dr. Bradford Berges
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Kaposi’s sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) is one of seven known cancer causing viruses which have the capacity to persist in the host for many years. This particular virus can undergo a long latent infection which ensures that the virus can hide by not expressing its genes. Last year, we proposed an experiment that would show the importance of a particular gene in the viral genome, LANA, in establishing a latent infection. The experiment required us to create stocks of a mutant virus that did not have the LANA gene inside (bac36deltaLANA) and then infect humanized mice with it. After infection, …
Search For Mitochondrial Dna Mutation In A Family With Myopathies And Lactic Acidosis,
2023
Brigham Young University
Search For Mitochondrial Dna Mutation In A Family With Myopathies And Lactic Acidosis, Mary Rennick, Dr. Brent Nielsen
Journal of Undergraduate Research
This research focused on the search for the probable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation in one family affected with fibromyalgia and lactic acidosis. The hypothesis was that there is mixture of normal and mutated mtDNA, called heteroplasmy. I first obtained the four patients’ consent to participate in the study. The four patients were between the age of 19 and 25 years-‐two males and two females. They donated urine samples to be used for DNA analysis. I isolated DNA using a Qiagen DNA extraction kit and obtained concentration measurements of 8-‐ 10 nanograms per microliter using the nanodrop spectrophotometer in the RIC …
Antibody Production And Diversification In Humanized Mice,
2023
Brigham Young University
Antibody Production And Diversification In Humanized Mice, Stanton Nielsen, Dr. Brad Berges
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Many scientists are skeptical of using humanized mice to study the human adaptive immune response. The reasoning behind this skepticism stems from discrepancies in various studies seen previously. A study conducted by Traggiai et al. showed that humanized mice elicited a human adaptive immune response when challenged with the tetanus toxin (Traggiai). In addition, good antibody responses have been shown in humanized mice when challenged with Dengue virus (Kuruvilla). However, others have found only rare antibody responses to HIV when humanized mice were challenged (Baenziger). As mentioned earlier, a study conducted by Becker et al. showed the production of human …
Vitamin D3 As An Adjuvant To Produce Localized Immunity,
2023
Brigham Young University
Vitamin D3 As An Adjuvant To Produce Localized Immunity, Kaitlyn Vance, Dr. Eric Wilson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The aim of our research was to help elucidate the degree of specificity employed by antibody secreting cells (lymphocytes) through a study of the role of CCR10 in the differential homing of these cells to mucosal issues. We used vitamin D3, known to upregulate expression of CCR10 on activated lymphocytes, as an adjuvant in our vaccines and tracked cell homing to mucosal tissues that express the CCR10 ligand CCL28 by detecting antigen specific antibody accumulation. Since mucosal tissues are ideal locations for vaccinations, the long-term aim was to develop a method for targeting antigen specific lymphocytes, and thus robust immune …
Characterizing Proteins That Interact With Pas Kinase,
2023
Brigham Young University
Characterizing Proteins That Interact With Pas Kinase, Jordan Mackay, Dr. Julianne Grose
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Characterizing the interacting protein partners of Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) kinase has proven to be a formidable task. Since the beginning of 2012, I have been working hard with graduate student Desi DeMille on confirming the putative interactors uncovered by genetic screening done the previous year. This endeavor has yielded both successes and failures.
How ‘Bout Them Apples?: A Study On Antioxidants,
2023
Brigham Young University
How ‘Bout Them Apples?: A Study On Antioxidants, Kylie Measom, Dr. Kim O'Neill
Journal of Undergraduate Research
They say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Apples are laden with antioxidants which have been shown to prevent against cancer and other illnesses.1 Antioxidants are molecules that prevent cancer by collecting excess free radicals in the body. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules. They may interfere with DNA and other biomolecules leading to DNA damage and mutations. Antioxidants prevent this by scavenging for free radicals before they can interact with other important biomolecules.2 Apples, particularly the skins, have high phenolic content. Phenols are antioxidants that protect against oxidative damage caused by free radicals.3 Different …
Ebi2 Knockdown And Effects On B-Cell Migration,
2023
Brigham Young University
Ebi2 Knockdown And Effects On B-Cell Migration, Jordan Mabey, Dr. Brian Poole
Journal of Undergraduate Research
B cells are specialized cells which participate in the normal immune response to an infection. As B cells encounter antigens in the body, they become activated and travel to what is known as a B cell follicle within a lymph node. At the outer follicle B cells combine with T cells and move to the inner follicle to become specialized immunity participating cells. Normally upon reaching the outer follicle, the B cell up-regulates Epstein-Barr virus induced molecule-2 (EBI2) which causes it to pause until the cell can complex with the proper T cell. Once this connection between the two cells …
Assessing The Effects Of The Irf5 Exon 1b On Translation,
2023
Brigham Young University
Assessing The Effects Of The Irf5 Exon 1b On Translation, Jared Lambert, Dr. Brian Poole
Journal of Undergraduate Research
With our lab’s previous finding revealing a hairpin folding structure in exon 1B (IRF5 risk allele), not found in the other first exons, this project was focused towards more fully understanding the role of IRF5 exon 1B’s hairpin structure and its effect on the translation of downstream proteins. The data acquired through this project will provide much needed information regarding the mechanism through which the risk allele of IRF5 affects the development of Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus (SLE).
Determining The Role Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Lana Protein In The Development Of Persistent Infection,
2023
Brigham Young University
Determining The Role Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Lana Protein In The Development Of Persistent Infection, Jamie Gardiner, Dr. Brad Berges
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human cancer virus that causes Kaposis’ sarcoma, the most common cancer found in AIDS patients. Our lab is working to develop humanized mice as a novel animal model to study KSHV infection and related diseases, since there has previously been no animal model established. The purpose of my project was to determine the role of the viral protein LANA (latencyassociated nuclear antigen) in establishing a latent KSHV infection in humanized mice. My project included two major aims:
Understanding The Molecular Targets Of Antimicrobial Chemokines,
2023
Brigham Young University
Understanding The Molecular Targets Of Antimicrobial Chemokines, Brittany Kartchner, Dr. Eric Wilson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
For this project, I hypothesized that the amino acid composition of the C terminus of chemokine proteins allows some chemokines to bind to different sites on the bacterial cell wall and that the chemokines with a strong positive charge (CCL25 and CCL28) will bind to the same target, while CCL27, which has no positively charged C terminus region, will have a different binding site. In order to study the binding properties of each chemokine, I began by performing binding assays. In these assays, approximately 105 colony-forming units of exponentially growing bacteria were incubated on ice with the appropriate chemokine. This …
Identifying Proteins That Interact With Human Pas Kinase,
2023
Brigham Young University
Identifying Proteins That Interact With Human Pas Kinase, Tacie Hall, Dr. Julianne Grose
Journal of Undergraduate Research
When PAS kinase is knocked out in mice placed on high-fat diets, these mice show such symptoms as decreased weight gain, hypermetabolic phenotype, decreased liver triglyceride accumulation, and retained insulin sensitivity when compared with their wild type littermates.1 These symptoms are highly associated with chronic diseases commonly seen in humans today, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. PAS kinase is a highly conserved protein from yeast to man which allows for the use of yeast as model organism to help discover the molecular mechanisms behind PAS kinase function. Since little is known about how PAS kinase functions, it …
