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Some of the material in is restricted to members of the community. By logging in, you may be able to gain additional access to certain collections or items. If you have questions about access or logging in, please use the form on the Contact Page.
This dissertation presents studies by magnetization, dc magnetic susceptibility and EPR spectroscopy on several new spin-frustrated polyoxometalate (POM) lattices of increasing spin sizes and complexities. Measurements have been made...
Nucleosome distributions are critically important in regulating access to the eukaryotic genome. Cells with different physiologies have strikingly similar nucleosome distributions. Few studies in human cells have measured genome-wide...
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex heterogeneous disease characterized by multiple mutations affecting critical signaling pathways. Limitations in therapeutic treatments due to the development of resistance mechanisms, toxicity, and...
This dissertation attempts to provide insight into the mixing, hydration and annealing of self-assembled, multilayered films based on precise counting of their doping ions and water content. Several practical applications are then...
Integrin signaling is critical for many biological functions including cell survival, cell migration, development, immunity and wound healing. Integrins perform their function through a structural change that is propagated from the...
In order to increase our understanding of the relationship between domains we must move beyond traditional phylogenetic approaches and attempt to group species and domains in new and different ways. This paper is an analysis of various...
Tissue engineering is one of the fastest growing biotechnology industries. The overarching research goals of the tissue engineering industry are highly intertwined with the field of medicine. The tissue engineering field seeks to create...
My research is designed to test the hypothesis that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the non-coding region of the GCH1 gene suppresses GCH1 mRNA translation and generates a novel peptide, and that both of these phenomena...
Diphtheria toxin repressor is a regulatory protein from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the causal agent of Diphtheria. The diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) contains an SH3-like domain that forms an intramolecular complex with a proline...
Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are localized in the nucleolus as small ribonucleoprotein particle (snoRNP) that are RNA-protein complexes and catalyze site specific modifications on the ribosomal RNA. When compared to many protein...
Cells sense the mechanical properties of their environment through physical engagement and spreading, with high stiffness driving nuclear translocation of the mechanosensitive transcription factor YAP. Restriction of cell spread area or...
Eukaryotic genomes are organized into the nucleoprotein complex, chromatin. The fundamental subunit of chromatin is the nucleosome: 150 base pairs (bps) of DNA wrapped around a "spool" of histone proteins. Chromatin structure depends...
Keloids are disfiguring, painful and itchy but benign fibrotic skin lesions characterized by excessive dermal fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition. They occur in susceptible individuals due to abnormal wound healing. Keloids...
All functional RNAs contain post-transcriptionally modified nucleotides. 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation are the two major types of modifications, which occur by box C/D and box H/ACA ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, ...
Eukaryotic genomes replicate via the synchronous firing of clusters of origins that together produce multi-replicon domains, each of which replicates at a defined time during S-phase. This temporal program is termed the DNA replication...
Muscle contraction is regulated at the thin filament level by tropomyosin (Tm) and the troponin complex (Tn). Tm is an α-helical coiled coil protein that forms a continuous strand on the actin filament through end-end interactions with...
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) offer an adaptive immune system that protects bacteria and archaea from nucleic acid invaders through an RNA-mediated nucleic acid cleavage mechanism. Our knowledge of...
Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) is used to compare the protein profiles of different crude biological samples. Narrow pH range Immobilized pH Gradient (IPG) strips were designed to increase the resolution of these separations....
Reproduced with permission from Journal of the American Chemical Society, submitted for publication. Unpublished work copyright 2008 American Chemical Society. The development of ternary nanoscale materials with controlled cross...
Orientational restraints resulting from a wide range of anisotropic nuclear spin interactions such as chemical shifts, heteronuclear dipolar interactions, and quadrupolar interactions, have been widely used for determining the structures...
Considerable attention has recently been given to the preparation of the ciguatoxins, the major group of toxins implicated with the onset of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) – a seafood-borne illness associated with the consumption of reef...
This thesis analyzes the structure and function of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the tetrapyrrole cofactor, siroheme, a critical cofactor used in sulfur and nitrogen metabolism in plants, bacteria, and some archaea. The...
IdeR is an iron-dependent repressor protein, one of the essential proteins found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. IdeR is a homologue of the diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR). IdeR controls iron acquisition and storage, moreover it binds...
Molecules containing the phosphate (O—PO32-) moiety are ubiquitous in biochemistry. Phosphoryl transfer reactions that break and form the O—P phosphoryl bond are central to biological processes as diverse as energy metabolism and signal...
Epithelial tissues rely on the activity of stem cells to sustain their structure and proper functioning. These stem cells are responsible for generating various types of cells, that are essential for the tissue's normal homeostasis, ...
Oxidoreductase enzyme complexes are one of the known biomolecular machines, which play a crucial role in cellular biochemistry including metabolic, signaling, and electron transport pathways. In these complexes, individual subunits can...
In Chapter I, the photochemistry of enediynes is reviewed. Photo-Bergman cyclization, C1-C5 photocyclization and other photochemical reactions of alkynes in the enediyne moiety are discussed. DNA cleavage by photochemically activated...
Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by extreme sensitivity to sunlight, higher incidence of skin cancers, pigmented alterations in the skin, and in some cases neurological abnormalities. XP is...
The Zika virus (ZIKV) presents a threat to the health of pregnant women and developing fetuses as it is associated with microcephaly. There is a current gap in the understanding of how ZIKV affects the host’s chromatin architecture....
Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Monitored by Liquid Chromatorgaphy Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry—Method Optimization and Applications to the Study of Protein Conformation and Protein—Drug Interactions
Proteins are the most versatile macromolecules in the cell. Major biochemical functions of proteins include binding; catalysis; and serving as structural components of cells and organisms. Proteins are made of amino acids that are...
In eukaryotes and archaea 5-25% of transfer RNA (tRNA) precursors contain intervening sequences, or introns, that interrupt the molecules' functional regions. Because functional tRNA molecules are necessary for protein synthesis, ...
As an RNA-guided RNA modification enzyme, the box H/ACA RNP recruits the guide RNA to recognize the substrate RNA, whereas the protein partners carry out the catalysis. Most intriguingly, box H/ACA RNPs share the same four conserved...
The current treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) consists of a combination therapy of alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) and ribivirin (RBV). Due to IFN resistance and side effects, new classes of drugs are needed to combat HCV infection....
Ultrathin films consisting of an alternating sequence of positively and negatively charged polyelectrolytes have been prepared by means of the electrostatic layer-by-layer sequential assembly technique. To augment their typical...
Notch signaling plays an important role in tissue differentiation and remodeling and has been extensively studied. Much has been learned about the Notch signaling pathway and consequences of defects within the path, yet little is...
Excessive alcohol consumption in middle-aged and older individuals is a growing concern as 72% of alcohol-poisoning deaths occur in adults 35 years and older. Treating alcohol-related pathologies requires an understanding of the factors...
Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is an important crop worldwide, known as the main flavoring ingredient in beer. The diversifying brewing industry demands variation in flavors, superior process properties, and sustainable agronomics, which are...
To improve the design of prostheses surfaces, our research group investigates how biocompatible polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMUs) can be constructed to serve as coatings for biomedical implants, providing a versatile, inexpensive, and...
Reversible protein phosphorylation plays an integral role in the regulation of eukaryotic cellular signaling, especially for transcription factors. Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is a ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved multifunctional...
One of the primary contributors to protein structure and functioning in biological systems is the electrostatic environment experienced by the protein. This environment is caused by charged and polar chemical interactions, with the...
Manual Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectral analysis of proteins is a time intensive effort with methods often specific to each analysis. The method described in this thesis automates the resonance assignment of protein side chains...
Myosin activity and actomyosin interaction play key roles in normal and pathological cardiac muscle contraction. Factors that modulate actomyosin have the potential to exert changes in cardiac contraction that may be necessary for normal...
Plants are often subjected to extreme environmental conditions and must adapt rapidly. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) accumulates under abiotic stress conditions, signaling transcriptional changes that trigger physiological...
This dissertation describes the synthetic utility of tandem addition / C-C bond cleavage reactions of vinylogous acyl triflates. The first chapter provides background into carbon-carbon bond breaking reactions that have been applied in...
Accurate chromosome segregation is vital to maintain genomic integrity. Chromosome missegregation, or aneuploidy, contributes to cancer development and conditions like down syndrome (Trisomy 21). Chromosomes are attached to microtubules...
Identification and Characterization of Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton (Linc) Complex Components in Maize (Zea mays L.) Meiosis and Development
The LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton to Cytoskeleton) complex is an essential multi-protein structure spanning the nuclear envelope in all eukaryotic organisms. The core of the LINC complex is comprised of SUN (Sad1/Unc-84) domain proteins...
Radical Fragmentations: From Conformational Control of Enediyne Reactivity to 1,2-C,O Transposition and Metal-Free Synthesis of Benzoates and Benzamides from Phenols
The work described in this thesis is a demonstration of how theory and experiment can be used side by side in developing research in organic chemistry, from mechanistic studies to the design of new reactions. In chapter one we describe a...
This dissertation describes the synthesis and characterization of two new compounds that are among the most studied materials in solid state chemistry over the past eight or so years. The compounds investigated are [Mn12O12(CH3COO)16(H2O...
The venom of spider Plectreurys tristis contains a variety of peptide toxins that selectively target neuronal ion channels. O-palmitoylation of a threonine or serine residue, along with a characteristic and highly constrained disulfide...
The scope of this dissertation is two-fold: assembly of histidine-tagged peptides and proteins directly to the surface of a 1.5 nm AuNP and the assembly and delivery of nano-medical materials for MR imaging and gene therapy. Chapter 1 is...
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