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CSU Northridge Poster Category: Arabidopsis thaliana, Genetic engineering, Weather pollution Project Title: Overexpression of an aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid synthase gene in Arabidopsis thaliana and its effect on removing environmental pollutants Author List: Ramadoss, Niveditha; Graduate, Biology, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Gupta, Dinesh; Washington University, St.

Louis Guenther, Alex; University of California, Irvine Basu, Chhandak; Biology, California State University, Northridge. Rise in air pollution has led to increasing cancer, several respiratory and cardiac illnesses in humans. World Health Organization estimates that one in eight person die from air pollution.

The main objective of our study is to analyze the feasibility of genetically engineered plants to remove polluting volatile compounds from air. To achieve this goal we genetically transformed Arabidopsis thaliana with an ACS Aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid synthase gene. Using quantitative real-time PCR qPCRwe previously confirmed that the ACS gene was upregulated in poplar Populus trichocarpa plants when exposed to environmental pollutants including ozone and methyl vinyl ketone.

Therefore, we hypothesize that ACS gene might play an important role in poplar plants in mitigating stresses resulting from pollutant exposure. The homolog of poplar ACC synthase gene was PCR amplified from Arabidopsis thaliana and cloned into pBINmgfp5-er vector, featuring a constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus promoter removing the native jellyfish green fluorescent GFP gene.

The recombinant plasmid containing the ACS gene was electroporated into the GV strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Arabidopsis plants were genetically engineered with ACS gene by dipping the T0 transgenic zero or wild type flowering plants into GV strain of Agrobacterium containing the recombinant binary vector.

The transformed plants were selected through kanamycin resistance and grown till T3 third transgenic generation.

The ACS gene expression of these plants will be confirmed through qPCR. The pollutant absorbing capacity will be tested by placing the transformed T3 plants in an environmental gas chamber where they will be exposed to various levels of pollutants. The ability of the transformed plants to absorb pollutants will be evaluated by performing gas chromatography mass spectrometry analyses to measure pollutants in the inlet and outlet airflow in order to quantify the pollutant deposition rate.

Our future goal will be to transform tree species and evaluate their potentials to remove pollutants. These studies will open doors for use of transgenic plants to clean up environments. Sonoma State University Poster Category: Biosensors, Wireless Biosensor NetworkSoil Project Title: A Comparative Study of RF Wave Attenuation in Soil and Sand Author List: Palmerin, Abraham; Undergraduate, Engineering ScienceSonoma State University, Presenting Author Farahmand, Farid; Engineering Science, Sonoma State University Fong, Erin; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Engineering Division.

Soil is the most spatially complex stratum of a terrestrial ecosystem. Therefore, soil monitoring and understanding changes in soil ecosystem are considered to be important aspects of any environmental monitoring. The recent emergence of Wireless Biosensor Networks WBNs promises addressing many ecological questions, particularly related to soil, though providing uninterrupted real-time data from various biosensors using RF signals.

In this work we focused on understanding the impact of soil composition e. This study is crucial in order to define the appropriate RF band, power level, and RF antenna size for extended underground monitoring. Our research focused on 5. The first part of our experiment was conducted in a gallon weathertight trunk container filled with sand, mostly composed of silica in the form of quartz, with no clay.

We measured the RF signal path loss through the sand for the above frequencies at different horizontal distances between the transmitter and receiver. We also measured RF signal strength as we changed the vertical distances between the two antennas.

In the second part of our experiment, we used regular gardening soil mostly composed of organic matter, perlite and vermiculite. Vermiculite keeps the soil hydrated and is part of the clay minerals group.

We made similar measurements. In both cases, we maintained the temperature at 23 degrees Celsius. We normalized the obtained path loss measurements as a function of distance for all frequencies to remove any offset difference due to factors such as antennas.

Our results indicate that at 0. We also found that at higher frequencies, the RF signal experiences dB more attenuation in soil than air. The exact value depends on the frequency and antenna polarization type.

On the other hand, the path loss in sand is about 0. It is therefore, preferred to use lower band frequencies for underground biosensors.

However, the trade off will be antenna size and its design complexity. Our results conclude that it is critical to carefully manage signal power and understand antenna design when wireless biosensors are placed in an area with high quantity of clay content.

This study was carried out in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Division of Earth Sciences. CSU Long Beach Poster Category: Arabidopsis, Senescence, Epigenetics Project Title: A TIR-NBS-LRR Class Disease Resistance Protein Mays be a Positive Regulator of Developmental Senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana Author List: Leaf senescence is the final stage in leaf development in which the leaf reallocates its nutrients to growing parts of the plant.

This study aims to determine if the At4g gene, which encodes a TIR-NBS-LRR class disease resistance protein DRPis involved in leaf senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. This gene is up-regulated in leaf senescence and the increase in expression occurs in parallel to increases in the H3K4me3 mark. Two distinct transfer-DNA T-DNA insertion lines that disrupt At4g, k4-drp-1 and k4-drp-2, have been isolated and their location has been determined by DNA sequencing.

Loss of gene expression was confirmed by amplification of cDNA using insertion-specific primers. Chlorophyll and total protein levels were used as physical markers for age. The transcript levels of robust senescence-up regulated genes WRKY75 and NIT2were also compared. Our results revealed a significant increase of protein levels in the k4-drp-1 mutant when compared to wild type. A trend of increased chlorophyll levels in k4-drp mutants were also observed when compared to wild type.

Quantitative real-time PCR data revealed no trends of increased senescence associated gene transcript levels. We infer that the TIR-NBS-LRR, from the TNL-H subfamily, K4-DRP, may be involved in the protein degradation signaling cascade in senescence.

Further work includes generating triple mutants of the TNL-H class genes that are up-regulated during senescence and marked by H3K4me3. A strong delayed-senescence phenotype in triple TNL-H mutants would suggest that the TNL-H subfamily of genes may be positive regulators of senescence. CSU Fresno Poster Category: Fitness cost of glyphosate resistance in hairy fleabane Erigeron bonariensis under drought conditions Author List: Pathak, Ankit; Graduate, Biology, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Waselkov, Katherine; Biology, California State University, Fresno.

Many agriculturally invasive, weedy plant species have evolved resistance various chemical herbicides, in large part because of continuous application of these chemicals to agricultural environments.

Glyphosate is a powerful, low-toxicity herbicide that has been extensively applied to crops in the San Joaquin Valley of California since the s. Ina glyphosate-resistant population of hairy fleabane Erigeron bonariensis was discovered on a California roadside, and since then, glyphosate resistance in fleabane has become widespread in the San Joaquin Valley.

During the same time period to the presentextreme drought conditions became a major factor in California agriculture. Since this weed species competes with young fruit trees and vines for resources, and as water resources become more limited due to climatic changes, our lab has begun to study the interaction between glyphosate resistance GR and drought stress in hairy fleabane.

Our hypothesis was that glyphosate resistance has no fitness cost under drought-stressed conditions. Twenty plants each from a well-characterized GR fleabane population and a glyphosate-sensitive GS population were grown in a greenhouse environment: We measured different fitness components, including height and leaf number over time, days to bolting and flowering, above-ground and below-ground biomass, and seed production.

Treatment had a stronger effect than biotype on all measurements that showed significant differences between groups, including days to flowering 8. However, there was a non-significant trend towards a reversal of the relative fitness of GR and GS plants in drought conditions: GR plants, which were consistently taller in control conditions, were shorter than GS plants under water stress at all time points.

Our results suggest that, contrary to our hypothesis, glyphosate resistance has a small fitness cost in fleabane under drought-stress conditions, which might be detectable with a larger sample size in repeated experimentation, soon to be conducted in our lab. Our future experiments may have implications for integrated pest management IPM in Central Valley agriculture.

Humboldt State University Poster Category: Curriculum Development, antibiotics, biodiversity Project Title: More biodiversity is seen in Streptomyces isolates from diverse ecosystem types than in isolates from similar but geographically distant sites. Stoflet, Terilyn; Undergraduate, Biology, Humboldt State University, Presenting Author Wilson, Mark; Biology, Humboldt State University. Understanding factors that govern microbial diversity and distribution will help optimize strategies to isolate microorganisms that produce novel bioactive compounds.

A recent study compared sequences of 5 protein-coding genes atpD, trpB, gyrB, rpoB and recA in bacteria from the genus Streptomyces that were isolated from grassland soils across the US and Canada. Identical alleles of the genes were often present in isolates collected thousands of kilometers apart at similar latitudes. Some allelic variation was observed in isolates from distinct longitudes.

We tested the hypothesis that alternative ecosystems might harbor biodiversity not sampled in grassland soils. As part of a course-based research project, we isolated 50 antibiotic-producing bacteria from air and soil samples in a coastal redwood forest. Sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes revealed that 25 of our isolates were from the genus Streptomyces, and 20 of these fell into the 6 phylotypes examined in the previous study.

We extracted genomic DNA, PCR-amplified and sequenced atpD, trpB, gyrB, rpoB and recA, and analyzed sequence alignments. Alleles from our isolates were rarely identical to those found in the grassland isolates, and pairwise comparisons with grassland isolates often exhibited higher levels of non-identity than seen in any pairwise comparison of grassland alleles. Although the previous study found that rapid, ongoing dispersal of Streptomyces erased traces of endemism, our results suggest that unique selective factors in alternative ecosystems might overcome dispersal effects.

Our results suggest that novel bioactive compounds might be more readily found by searching unique ecosystem types rather than geographically separated ecosystems. We have developed a syllabus and protocols to further this research as a course-based research project carried out by students enrolled in an introductory Biology course, and students will isolate and characterize antibiotic-producing microorganisms as part of this project at HSU in Student attitudes and persistence to graduation will be monitored to determine if participating in an authentic course-based research project improves student outcomes.

We are actively searching for partner schools that would be interested in implementing the project on their campuses. This work was supported by curricular materials developed as part of the Small World Initiative at Yale University and a Curriculum Development grant from CSUPERB.

A microbial fuel cell-based system for treating winery wastewater Author List: Sacher, Gabriel; Undergraduate, Biology, Sonoma State University, Presenting Author Kozlowski, John; Graduate, Biology, Sonoma State University Simpson, David; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Biological Systems Unit Goryanin, Igor; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Biological Systems Unit Farahmand, Farid; Engineering Science, Sonoma State University Cohen, Michael; Biology, Sonoma State University.

Wastewater treatment can be a major cost for wineries. The most energy-intensive portion of the treatment process is aerating the wastewater to facilitate microbial oxidation of organic compounds. However, some bacteria, instead of consuming oxygen, are able to oxidize organics by delivering electrons to conductive surfaces. Microbial fuel cells MFCs direct this flow of electrons to an external cathode, generating an electric current, and to methanogens that reside within the anodic chamber, generating biogas.

We are investigating applications of MFC technology as an energy-saving substitute for wastewater aeration. The entire system, located at Vintners Square, Santa Rosa, CA, consists of a mixing tank, two novel tubular MFCs operated in parallel, and a sand filter, all maintained at ambient temperature. Outflow from the system is used to drip-irrigate on-site landscaping.

Concentrations of organics in the wastewater were measured as chemical oxygen demand COD. Continuous feeding of 0. Energy in the consumed COD was converted primarily to biogas, with external electrical current serving as an indicator of MFC health.

Results gathered from the testing and optimization of this pilot system will inform the development of full-scale MFC-based systems to treat winery wastewater to a level suitable for irrigation. CSU Stanislaus Poster Category: PHB degradation, bioplastics, induction,Project Title: Characterization of Bacteria Capable of Degrading Polyhydroxybutyrate Author List: Vera, Hector; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Stanislaus, Presenting Author Khut, Melanie; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Stanislaus, Presenting Author Thao, My Lo; Biological Sciences, California State University, Stanislaus.

Petroleum-based plastics are an important part of our lives. Unfortunately, they are made from non-renewable resources and are recalcitrant to degradation in the environment or through artificial means. As a result, current research has been aimed at finding alternative sources, and one such source is polyhydroxybutyrate PHB. PHB is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that is a principle component of bioplastics. However, in order to ensure that the bioplastics made from PHB degrade efficiently, more research on the bacteria that break down PHB is needed.

Previously, we have isolated and identified fourteen unique bacterial species capable of degrading PHB from different sources, the majority of which were Pseudomonas species. The objectives of the current research are to characterize the PHB-degrading bacteria by determining their optimum growth temperature, nutrient requirements, and induction of the genes involved in PHB degradation. The optimum growth temperature was determined by growing the bacteria in liquid media at various temperatures and measuring growth using turbidimetry.

To determine whether the isolates can use PHB as a source of carbon, prototrophy tests were done. Induction studies were carried out on Pseudomonas alcaliphila. Chemicals tested were PHB, 3-hydroxybutyric acid 3HBglucose, and lactic acid and samples were taken at 4, 8, 12, and 16 hours following induction.

Five of the isolates could use PHB as a sole carbon source. The best inducer of the PHB gene was PHB and it was fully induced at 8, 12, and 16 hour induction. The next step will be to clone and sequence the gene s and characterize the enzyme s involved in PHB degradation. Cal Poly Pomona Poster Category: Biochemical Characterizations of Arctic Permafrost Along an Age Gradient Author List: Studies on the microbiology of Arctic permafrost clearly show that microbial life thrives at anaerobic subzero temperatures.

As such, permafrost environments serve as excellent terrestrial analogs for the Mars subsurface, which contains a globally distributed permafrost and experiences prolonged subzero temperatures. Phylogenetic studies on permafrost obtained from Alaskan loess soils suggest that both microbial diversity and abundance decrease along a geochronosequence gradient of 5 to 35 kyr, with the Firmicutes being among the most abundant phyla at the older ages.

In this poster presentation, we will present the current status of our complementary work focused on biochemical characterizations along the geochronosequence gradient.

As proxies for oxidative stress and microbial abundance, we measured the bulk catalase specific activities and ATP abundances, respectively, in samples collected at 12, 25, and 35 kyr along the gradient.

These results suggest that the permafrost microbiomes, regardless of sample age, experience similar levels of oxidative stress. In context, these results are consistent with decreases in microbial abundance, including higher relative abundances of sporulated Firmicutes. In conclusion, the biological contexts of these results will be discussed further, as will our plans to measure changes in the community metabolome across the gradient using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

CSU San Bernardino Poster Category: Archaea, Thermophile, Hybridization Project Title: Optimization of Group 1 Aigarchaeota-Specific Oligonucleotide Probes Using Clone-FISH Author List: Mosier, Damon; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, Presenting Author Alvarado, Toshio; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, Presenting Author Dodsworth, Jeremy; Biology, California State University, San Bernardino. Aigarchaeota, a deeply branching lineage in the domain Archaea with no cultivated representatives, includes both thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms that reside in terrestrial and marine geothermal environments.

This archaeal phylum contains nine proposed genus-level groups that have been confirmed via 16S rRNA sequencing, with Group 1 Aigarchaeota Aig G1 being the focus of this study. To better detect and quantify Aig G1 in natural samples and enrichment cultures, Clone-FISH fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques were used to test possible oligonucleotide probes and to optimize hybridization conditions for FISH. A near-full length 16S rRNA gene obtained from Aig G1 was cloned into the plasmid pGEM-T.

This construct was transformed into E. FISH was then conducted with probes targeting the Aig G1 16S rRNA. Induced, but not uninduced, cells were positive for the Archaea-specific probe, indicating successful induction of the Aig G1 16S rRNA gene transcript. A previously published Aig G1-specific probe showed specificity but had a relatively low signal intensity in comparison to the archaeal probe at all formamide concentrations, suggesting poor binding of this probe.

This work will allow for better specific, sensitive detection of Aig G1 in natural samples and enrichment cultures, and will facilitate use of FISH coupled with nano-scale stable isotope mass spectrometry nano-SIMS to track the uptake of 13C labeled compounds by Aig G1 in future studies of their catabolic capabilities.

This work was supported by NSF grant DEB Manganese-oxidizing bacteria from modern stromatolites in Pisa Pond, Death Valley National Park Author List: Levish, Michelle; Graduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Marquez, Tanya; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author McLain, Nathan; Graduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach Dillon, Jesse; Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach.

Pisa Pond is a small, saline pool on the eastern edge of the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park. It hosts unusual microbialites with layers of calcite, gypsum and manganese oxides that precipitate during alternating wet and dry seasons.

The manganese oxides are thought to result from microbial metabolism of the biofilm that coats the submerged sections of these structures. These microbialites are modern analogs of early Earth communities and as such are of astrobiological interest. The aim of this study was to determine the microbial community present at this site by genomic and metagenomic sequencing, identify and characterize bacteria potentially responsible for the formation of the manganese oxide layer via targeted cultivation methods, and to determine whether the isolates are associated with the manganese-oxide layer of the stromatolite via FISH.

One Mn II -oxidizing isolate has been obtained and was identified as a strain of Photobacterium. This isolate oxidizes Mn II only when in biofilms. The genome of this isolate has been sequenced using the MinION and will be used to screen for potential Mn II oxidation genes. This study will provide important insights into this novel microbialite system. Bioprospecting alkaline springs for lignocellulose-degrading enzymes: A xylanase from Cellulomonas sp.

Gray, Justine; Graduate, Biology, Sonoma State University, Presenting Author Kainuma, Mami; Biology, Sonoma State University Hu, Ping; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Nguyen, My Vu; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Kamennaya, Nina; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Holman, Hoi-Ying; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Torok, Tamas; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Cohen, Michael; Biology, Sonoma State University.

The polysaccharides cellulose and hemicellulose in the cell-walls of terrestrial plants are the most abundant carbon source on Earth, composed of energy-rich sugars that can be used for the production of bioethanol by microbial biocatalysts.

Currently, hemicellulose is discarded as a waste byproduct by paper mills and in the production of cellulosic bioethanol. However, with advances in processing, hemicellulose could be repurposed as a cheap and abundant feedstock for bioethanol production. Production of plant based biofuels is hindered by the presence of lignin, which must be degraded by pretreatment, such as by exposure to high pH, before hydrolytic enzymes can gain access to cell-wall polysaccharides. We are seeking to develop ways to utilize hemicellulose as a biofuel feedstock by applying alkaline-tolerant organisms and enzymes capable of degrading plant biomass and thereby consolidate bioprocessing steps for producing bioethanol.

One potential source of such organisms are rare alkaline springs, similar to the alkaline vents where life may have originated, found at The Cedars, Sonoma, CA, in which plant matter falling into the Ca OH 2-rich pH From these springs we isolated Cellulomonas sp.

Sequence analysis of the strain FA1 genome revealed 82 glycosyl hydrolases. A gene from strain FA1 encoding a putative Enzyme kinetics and pH and temperature profiles will be determined by using the purified FA1-XYL enzyme in activity assays with xylan derived from beechwood as a substrate.

The results from these experiments may elucidate potential applications of strain FA1 for advancing biofuel technology. Metabolomics and oxidative extremtolerance of spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter grown on ethanol Author List: Protecting Mars from biological contamination is critical to ensuring the integrity of future life-detection missions. Despite the stringent cleaning protocols for Mars-bound spacecraft, there remains a persistent bioburden within the cleanroom facilities where spacecraft are assembled.

Among the most common genera found in spacecraft assembly facilities are the Acinetobacter; where molecular genetic studies suggest proliferation of this genus during spacecraft assembly. Herein, we describe molecular and biological studies that support the hypothesis that spacecraft cleaning reagents serve as carbon sources for the spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter.

Cultivation and plate count assays clearly show that strains of Acinetobacter isolated from the Mars Odyssey and Mars Phoenix facilities grew on ethanol, a spacecraft cleaning reagent, when present as a sole carbon source under minimal conditions 0. Under these conditions, a maximum growth rate of 0.

In conclusion, our student-centered work provides a biochemical rationale to the observed microbial ecology dynamics of spacecraft assembly facilities and, due to the observed oxidative extremotolerance under oligotrophic conditions, support the characterization of the spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter as potential forward contaminants of Mars.

CSU Fullerton Poster Category: Isolation and Identification of Novel Manganese Oxidizing Bacteria Author List: Phelan, Joshua; Undergraduate, Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Johnson, Hope; Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton. Microbial manganese oxidation plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of manganese. Microbe mediated conversion of soluble Mn II to insoluble Mn IV results in greater deposition of Mn oxides than can be explained by abiotic factors alone.

Biotic rates of Mn oxidation may be used in concordance with geological data to better piece together the history of life. Biogenic manganese oxides have also been shown to lower heavy metal concentrations in the water column by sequestering metal ions within manganese oxides. Manganese oxidizing microbes are phylogenetically diverse and have been isolated from many environments including fresh and saltwater environments, caves, and desert varnish.

In this study, we attempt to isolate new manganese oxidizing bacteria from environmental samples taken from Little Hot Creek, a hot spring in the Long Valley Caldera near Mammoth Lake California.

Environmental samples were plated on media variants designed for enrichment of manganese oxidizing bacteria. After isolation, suspected manganese oxidizing colonies were spot tested with LBB Leucoberbelin Blue dye for verification of manganese oxidation LBB turns from light blue to dark blue when oxidized by manganese oxides. Colony PCR was performed on isolates to amplify the 16S rRNA gene, a phylogenetic marker, for sequencing. Sequences were aligned against those recorded in the NCBI database using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST.

Thus far, four species of manganese oxidizing bacteria have been identified. These include two Sphingomonas spp. Spectroscopic Techniques for Studying Complex Enzyme Systems Author List: Enzymes are able to catalyze many chemical transformations with reactivity unparalleled by synthetic systems, including reactions relevant to atmospheric health and pollution remediation.

Typically such transformations are facilitated by enzyme metal centers that directly interact with small molecules such as nitric oxide, oxygen or methane. A particular challenge in understanding how the enzymes work is the difficulty in characterizing the interaction of the metal center and small molecules.

We have developed new spectroscopic methods for characterizing enzymes by directly probing metal centers coordinated to small molecules with synchrotron-produced high intensity X-rays and correlating the results with computational analysis. X-ray absorption spectroscopy XAS has been applied to many biological systems, however it cannot distinguish between similar coordination geometries or light atoms bound to the metal center.

Our work shows that high energy resolution fluorescence detection HERFD XAS and X-ray emission spectroscopy XES can distinguish binding modes of nitric oxide at nickel centers, and our experimental spectra have excellent quantitative correlation to computational models. Spectral fingerprints for linear versus side-on bound nitric oxide and neutral versus anionic oxidation states have been determined. These spectral fingerprints establish references for small molecule coordination modes that can be directly applied to complex enzyme intermediates.

This is one of the first XES studies of nickel centers and has significant implications for characterizing pollutants bound to enzyme metal centers.

The work was supported by Kellogg RSCA, CPP College of Science, SSRL, CSUPERB, and NSF XSEDE. Cardiovascular disease, Lipoproteins, Oxidative stress Project Title: Oxidative Stress and Apolipoprotein E in Brain Endothelial Cells Author List: Cruz, Siobanth; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Narayanaswami, Vasanthy; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach.

Apolipoprotein E3 apoE3 is an exchangeable protein that plays a significant role as an anti-atherogenic apolipoprotein. It serves as a ligand for the LDL receptor LDLr family of proteins that mediate cellular uptake of lipoproteins and plays a significant role in regulating plasma cholesterol homeostasis.

In this study, we investigate the functional consequences of acrolein-mediated oxidative damage to human apoE3 in brain endothelial cells that are the primary constituents of the blood brain barrier. It is considered an oxidative stress reagent that causes indiscriminate oxidative damage to cellular components, including proteins. We test the hypothesis that acrolein modification impairs the structural integrity and functional ability of apoE3.

Recombinant human apoE3 was modified with varying concentrations of acrolein, and the modification confirmed by Western Blot analysis using acrolein-lysine-specific antibodies. Modified apoE3 was reconstituted with 1-palmitoyloleoyl-sn-glycerophosphocholine and the resultant high density lipoprotein HDL was isolated by density gradient ultracentrifugation.

Reconstituted HDL bearing acrolein-modified apoE3 does not interact with soluble LDLr in co-immunoprecipitation assays suggesting oxidative modification of essential lysine residues required for interaction with the ligand-binding domain of the LDLr. However, incubation with mouse brain cerebral cortex endothelial cells, showed internalization of acrolein-modified apoE3.

Incubation with suramin, an inhibitor of the LDLr, does not abolish cellular uptake of acrolein-modified apoE3. This suggests that alternative mechanisms not involving LDLr are involved in internalization of acrolein-modified apoE3. Studies are in progress to determine the uptake pathway, with emphasis on the class of scavenger receptors as likely candidates.

The significance of the study is that it offers insight into the molecular basis of oxidative stress mediated damage to apolipoproteins and their role in pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This project was funded by NIH grant GM CSU East Bay Poster Category: Plant stress response, Enzyme, Electrophoresis Project Title: Two poplar hybrids exposed to salt and boron stress show different polyphenol oxidase isoforms Author List: Agriculture in the Central Valley of California heavily relies on irrigation.

Due to high soil salinity, the drainage water contains excess salt and boron. Poplar hybrids of parentage Populus trichocarpa x nigra x deltoids were tested for their ability to tolerate and recycle high salt and boron drainage water. This enzyme is responsible for the oxidative browning in plants and might play a role in plant resilience. In contrast to most other proteins, PPO is activated and not denatured by the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS.

We exploited this property and performed in-gel activity staining after SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis SDS-PAGE with poplar leaf extracts. Various phenolic substrates catechol, 3-methylcatechol, 4-methylcatechol, coumaric acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, L-tyrosine, tyramine, L-DOPA and buffer conditions were investigated.

All SDS-PAGE lanes were loaded with the same amount of total protein as determined via Bradford assays. Leaves were harvested from poplar hybrids irrigated with normal water control and with high salt and boron water. Leaf extracts prepared from the two hybrids showed different staining patterns on SDS-PAGE gels demonstrating that each hybrid contains a unique set of different PPO isoforms.

Acidic conditions typically resulted in a single band per hybrid. The substrate 4-methylcatechol yielded the most intense staining patterns.

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Most surprising was the different stress response of the two poplar hybrids. This was the expected response since lower PPO activity preserves more phenolic compounds, which can then serve as antioxidants. This same hybrid dependent stress response was also observed in isoelectric focusing IEF gels stained for PPO activity.

Our next step is to combine IEF and SDS-PAGE in 2D electrophoresis. This project was funded with a faculty support grant from CSU East Bay. Medicinal Chemistry, Metalloprotease Inhibitorpeptidomimetic Project Title: Sulfonamide peptidomimetic inhibitors for the Botulinum Neurotoxin Author List: The Botulinum neurotoxin BoNT is one of the most lethal toxins known to man and is secreted by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria.

The potency of the toxin and its ease of extraction from the bacteria makes BoNT a threat for use in biological terrorism. BoNTs are composed of heavy chains HC and light chains LC. The LCs are a zinc metalloprotease, which are responsible for cleaving SNARE proteins in the synaptic cleft between neurons and muscles, which cause termination of neurotransmission.

This termination results in muscle paralysis that can lead to death. Cleavage of the SNARE protein is irreversible; therefore, treatments are needed to prevent this lethal disease. Current treatments for BoNT intoxication are designed for pre-exposure and are not designed to deal with large infected populations. Our laboratory focuses on synthesizing small molecules that can inhibit BoNT LC as a therapeutic method to treat the disease.

Previously, our laboratory discovered a biphenyl sulfonamide isoleucine hydroxamic acid inhibitor for the BoNT LC. We have expanded on this inhibitor by increasing the number of amino acids in the scaffold while maintaining the biphenyl sulfonyl N-terminal and the hydroxamic acid at the C-terminal.

We hypothesized that increasing the number of amino acids would improve binding to the protease. The amino acids that were utilized for this library were alanine, glycine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and valine.

The new inhibitors were created via a solid phase synthetic strategy with hydroxylamine Wang resin. Amino acids were coupled to the resin in sequence and the biphenyl sulfonyl chloride was added to give the sulfonyl-amide bond. The small molecules were cleaved from the resin with trifluoroacetic acid to give the desired molecule in good yield and purity.

The order in which the amino acids were coupled was alternated to obtain a library of molecules with sequence diversity. The library of inhibitors was evaluated using an enzymatic assay to measure BoNT inhibition. After examining the peptidomimetic library, it was discovered that three sequences displayed substantial inhibition. These results prove that increasing the overall length and hydrophobic structure to the small molecules improved their binding to the large hydrophobic active site of the BoNT LC.

Phosphorylation, Kinase, Cancer Project Title: Exploring Phosphorylation as a Mechanism for Regulation of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Author List: Roach, Brett; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Tran, Amy; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Bhandari, Deepali; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach. Protein phosphorylation, a reversible modification, plays a central regulatory role in various cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, migration etc.

Thus, over- or under-activation of kinases the enzymes that carry out phosphorylation can result in various pathological conditions. Therefore, investigating mechanisms that regulate CDK5 activity remains a crucial area of study with far reaching implications in pathological understanding and therapeutics.

Here, we have employed in vitro and in cellulo kinase assays to confirm that CDK5 is able to phosphorylate itself. We have identified the potential phosphorylation sites using mass-spectrometry and generated phosphomimetic and non-phosphorylatable mutations at these sites using polymerase chain reaction based site-directed mutagenesis. Our current and future goals include testing the effect of these mutants on cell migration, a key phenotype promoted by CDK5. This project is supported by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs grant, CSULB and in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R25GM DNA Repair, Fluorescence Microscopy, Cloning Project Title: Construction of a specialized yeast strain for investigating recruitment of the Saw1 and Rad52 proteins in Double Strand Break Repair Author List: Vartanian, Lauryn; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Guzman, Jimmy; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Babayan, Melin; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge Fischhaber, Paula; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge.

DNA double strand breaks DSBs are induced when DNA is exposed to chemical agents or ionizing radiation which in turn cause chromosomal alterations that can lead to cancer in humans. DSBs are repaired by a family of pathways known as the Double Stand Break Repair pathways.

Single Strand Annealing SSA is one of these pathways that repairs DSBs between two DNA repeats, resulting in complete loss of DNA sequence originally situated between the repeats.

In the yeast, S. Since yeast Rad52 ScRad52 and human Rad52 HsRad52 are homologs, we are investigating whether HsRad52 can be recruited to SSA sites in yeast, and if so, whether HsRad52 can recruit yeast Saw1. Toward determining whether HsRad52 can subserve this function of ScRad52, we have constructed a specialized yeast strain containing two inducible DSB sites, each labeled fluorescently with a different color.

This strain will enable simultaneous induction of two DSBs on chromosomes V and XV, followed by the monitoring of the annealing step of their SSA repair by fluorescence microscopy during which the two fluorescent labels are brought into close proximity and become colocalized. Construction of our target strain began by using standard cloning techniques to produce two important fluorescent labeling features: The LacO array was cloned into plasmid pAAH1 and flanked by yeast DNA designed to trigger site-specific integration into chromosome XV, giving plasmid pAAH1-LacO.

Likewise, the LacI-RL-YFP gene was cloned into plasmid pUC57, flanked by yeast DNA designed for integration into the Rad10YFP yeast strain. A progenitor strain containing some specialized genetic elements needed for our fluorescence assay was transformed with pAAH1-LacO.

Following transformation, we have screened clones for integration of the Hygromycin selection marker tandemly situated next to the LacO array. Several successful transformants have been identified, one of which will be combined with LacI-RL-YFP to complete our target strain. Using fluorescence microscopy, the resulting strain will allow us to investigate the formation of colocalized foci in response to induction of DSBs. The authors thank NIH grant SC3GM for funding. Galleria mellonella, apolipoprotein, antimicrobial activity Project Title: Antimicrobial activity of apolipophorin III from Galleria mellonella decreases in lipid-bound form Author List: Wijeratne, Tilini; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Weers, Paul; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach.

Apolipophorin III apoLp-III is an exchangeable apolipoprotein from the hemolymph of Galleria mellonella. It is extensively used as a model to study lipid transport. ApoLp-III is found in a lipid-free form when the insect is resting. However, during flight activity it associates with diacylglycerol-enriched lipoproteins which are transported from lipid stores to flight muscles. When binding to lipoproteins, apoLp-III undergoes a dramatic conformational change in which the helix bundle opens exposing buried hydrophobic amino acid residues allowing association with the lipid surface.

Previous studies have shown that lipid-free apoLp-III binds to lipopolysaccharides LPS and phosphatidylglycerol PGwhich are abundant components of the bacterial membrane, potentially acting as an antimicrobial protein. The focus of this project is to study whether apoLp-III retains its antimicrobial activity in the lipid-bound form. Lipid-bound apoLp-III complexes were produced by incubation with 1-palmitoyloleoyl-sn-glycerophosphocholine POPC.

The complexes analyzed through non-denaturing PAGE showed two distinct populations of complexes of kDa and kDa, consistent with the electron microscopy images. Protein and lipid content of the discs were determined by the bicinchoninic acid and phospholipid C assay, respectively.

This revealed a lipid to protein molar ratio of Binding to PG membranes was measured by release of fluorescent calcein from PG vesicles induced by apoLp-III.

Fluorescence intensity of calcein released by lipid-bound apoLp-III was Thus, these results clearly demonstrated that lipid-bound apoLp-III displays a decreased activity to interact with LPS and PG vesicles, indicating that apoLp-III in the lipid-free state has a higher antimicrobial activity compared to lipid-bound apoLp-III.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health NIGMS GM and the CSULB Student Summer Research Award. Bcl-2, metabolism, blood cancer Project Title: Study of the metabolic effects of Bcl-2 overexpression in a prolymphocyte cell model Author List: Abed, Ali; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Samaan, Nawras; Undergraduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Kaur, Preet; Undergraduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno Mahmood, Bushra; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno Dejean, Laurent; Chemistry, California State University, Fresno.

B- cell lymphoma 2 Bcl-2 family proteins are the key regulators of the intrinsic pathway in the programmed cell death apoptosis. Bcl-2 family proteins have both pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins. The overexpression of the anti- apoptotic protein Bcl-2 is associated with certain types of diseases such as blood cancer. Our goal is to study Bcl-2 effects on Tumor metabolism.

Cancer cells exhibit high rates of lactic acid fermentation compared to normal cells. This has led to the assumption that cancer cells universally shift their metabolism toward anaerobic respiration i. However, several studies also indicate that the rate of aerobic respiration is elevated as well in certain types of tumors such as glioma.

This suggests that cancer cells may also display elevated rates of energy metabolism in general, rather than an exclusive increase of lactic fermentation.

In our study we used a fetal prolymphocytic murine cell line FL 5. This cell line has been shown to induce lymphoma when overexpressing Bcl-2 after injection in mice. We also were able to observe that Bcl-2 overexpression leads to an increase in lactic acid fermentation in the same cell line.

Basal respiration rates of Parental and Bcloverexpressing FL5. Our results show no significant change in JObasal, JOCCCP, JOoligo or oxidative phosphorylation regime between or Parental and Bcloverexpressing FL5. Taken together, these results indicate that Bcloverexpression driven increase of lactic acid fermentation is not associated to seasonality forecasting stock market movement direction Warburg-type metabolic shift as respiration rates remained unchanged.

Future experiments include the metabolic study of Bcl-2 overexpression in FL5. Surface layer protein, bioremediation, bioengineering Project Title: Evaluation of Lead Peptides Displayed on Caulobacter vibrioides S-Layers Using Fluorescence Author List: Heavy metal contamination of soils and waterways due to industrial processes, such as mining, continues to be a problem in the United States.

Recent reports indicate that microbial surface layers S-layers may be able to bind and sequester heavy metals, thereby removing them from the environment. Here we describe the lithuania stock market and evaluation no dealing desk forex execution lead-binding strains of Caulobacter vibrioides for bioremediation.

This organism possesses an S-layer protein RsaA which forms a 2D crystalline array with hexagonal symmetry. Because RsaA covers the outermost surface of the cell, specific nanoscale engineered modifications could increase the efficiency for this organism to bind heavy metals. Genetically verified engineered strains buying options with fidelity also confirmed to export the S-layer protein as expected.

Growth studies in media indicate that recombinant and wild-type strains can tolerate and grow in at least 25 ppm Pb in solution. Using highly sensitive fluorescent dyes, lead remediation is measured in the nanomolar range. Results show that upon exposure to The wild type strain remediates the lead to These results indicate our engineered strains bind more lead than the wildtype.

Future goals of this project include determining association constants of lead to cells, the binding of other heavy metals, and construction of a bioremediation filter. Flavin Reductase, Protein Purification, Structural enzymology Project Title: Purification and Characterization of Flavin Reductase, DszD, from Rhodococcus erythropolis Author List: Mendez, Gilberto; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Madha, Best forex uk broker Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge Vey, Jessica; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge.

Flavin reductases are found in all organisms, and catalyze essential reactions in all domains of life. Flavins such as flavin mononucleotide, flavin adenine dinucleotide, and riboflavin are essential for many metabolic processes and are best known for their role in oxidation-reduction reactions. We are working on crystallizing and assessing the catalytic capabilities of the NADH-dependent flavin reductase, DszD, from the biodesulfurizing bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis. In our work, DszD has been successfully overexpressed and purified essentially to homogeneity from E.

We have verified the substrate preferences of DszD, showing the enzyme has maximal activity with flavin mononucleotide. DszD was subjected to a sparse matrix crystallization experiment using the hanging drop vapor diffusion method. Promising crystallization conditions were identified, replicated, and are currently being optimized to improve crystal quality. Once solved, the structure of DszD will lead to the identification of the active site residues important for substrate binding and catalysis.

This work was funded by the Research Corporation through CCSA and the NIH through Grant 5SC2AI CSU San Marcos Poster Category: Protein Folding, ribosome, click-chemistry Project Title: Protein Folding Reactions as Ultrasensitive Environmental Sensors Author List: Duarte, Isaac; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University San Marcos, Presenting Author Huerta, Roxanne; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State Cheats on how to get free clothes on club penguin San Marcos, What is forex introducing broker Author Manrique, Queenie; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University San Marcos Hamadani, Kambiz; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University San Marcos.

Protein folding is a very sensitive bioconformational reaction that is required for numerous biological functions. The thermodynamics of protein folding reactions is extremely sensitive to perturbation. Here xu huong forex harnessed this sensitivity to track 1.

For our studies we used green fluorescent protein and hen egg white lysozyme HEWL as model systems.

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Our results support previous findings which indicate that anaerobic copper-click reaction conditions can adequately protect target proteins in bioconjugation reactions from potential oxidative damage. We also find that the folding and maturation efficiencies of fluorescent test proteins synthesized by purified and reconstituted in-vitro translation are far lower than expected.

We are investigating exemple option de vente put possibility that this may be due to translational infidelity.

Finally, using linear extrapolation methods we find that in the presence of small amounts of TFE test proteins are significantly destabilized. While not conclusive, these results support our working hypothesis that in-vitro studies of protein folding reactions in the presence of TFE can recapitulate certain aspects of how the ribosome influences co-translational protein folding reactions.

Bcl-2, metabolism, NMR Project Title: Cross-talk Regulation Mediated by the Bcl-2 family Proteins between cell survival and Metabolism Author List: Llanos, Rhaul; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Mahmood, Bushra; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno Krishnan, Krish; Chemistry, California State University, Fresno Dejean, Laurent; Chemistry, California State University, Fresno.

Cancer metabolism is characterized by an increase of anaerobic glycolysis vs mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to produce energy for cellular processes, singularities known as the Warburg interest rate futures market in indiawhile The Bcl-2 Family Proteins regulate vital signaling pathways in cancer metabolism; but how these processes are coordinated is poorly understood. Bcl-2 family proteins contain both pro- and anti-apoptotic members which are respectively encoded by tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes.

Our research has focused on molecular regulation of cancer and NMR spectroscopy based metabolomics analysis provided us an approach to study changes in metabolic pathways from Wild type, Bcl-xL, Bcl-2 and BclGE, FL5. We monitored the what is forex introducing broker of stable isotope-labeled glucose short term capital gains tax rate 2016-14 look into the metabolic dynamics and tracking of individual carbon routes within carbohydrate metabolism.

The analysis of the stable isotope 13C carbon tracing stable was used to determine the dynamics of metabolic circuitries that are altered due to of Bcl-2 overexpression. These cell lines show significant differences in the profiles of the NMR spectra; one of the affected signals seeming to more specifically reflect changes at the level of the metabolic step catalyzed by the succinate dehydrogenase i.

Interestingly, we also observed that Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL over-expression led to a significant increase of lactate production rates in a mouse pro-lymphocyte B cell line. Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt II and III Salen and their Possible Interactions with Persulfide Species Author List: Holm, Annika ; Undergraduate, ChemistrySonoma State University, Presenting Author FukutoJon; ChemistrySonoma State University Works, Carmen ; ChemistrySonoma State University.

Recent studies indicate that persulfides RSSH are highly prevalent in mammalian cells, tissues and plasma. Previous work by us benefits of backdating stock options to the fact that one of the biological targets for persulfides can be metalloproteins. Persulfide species have been of particular interest because they possess unique chemistry compared to other biological sulfur species.

We have proposed that persulfides maybank foreign exchange rate history readily reduce oxidized metalloproteins. Indeed, among all biologically relevant sulfur species, persulfides are likely the more reducing than thiols. Our long-term goal is to understand the chemistry of persulfides with metalloproteins such as myoglobin.

Part time jobs data entry from home in bangalore simple model was used to understand the chemistry of persulfides with stable transition metal complexes. Salen ligand was synthesized, and cobalt II acetate was used to make a metal complex. From this complex the cobalt III analog was also prepared by oxidation. The cobalt complexes were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

A persulfide donor was then used to test for possible metal-persulfide interactions. Surprisingly, Uv-vis results indicate that RSSH oxidizes cobalt II but does not react with cobalt III.

Interestedly, Uv-vis results also indicate that RSSH reduce iron III in myoglobin. Currently we are working towards understanding mechanisms of these reactions, but conclusions so far indicate that spin states and ligand binding can influence the chemistry of persulfides with transition metals.

Identification of two additional unusual features of copper transport and metabolism in dogs Author List: Kim, Kaitlynne; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Vallabhaneni, Sai; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Elite wave theory stock market State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Flynn, Stephen; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton Do, Kathy; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton Linder, Maria C; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton.

We have how to make money using the stock market in gta known that dogs are unusual in the way they handle Cu. Not only are liver concentrations much higher than in other mammals, but their serum albumin has a much lower affinity for Cu. High liver Cu levels are mainly turkey forex signal to a reduced ability to excrete Cu through the bile, so it can accumulate to high newest stocks on the market, causing liver toxicosis.

We have been studying the Cu components of blood plasma and have uncovered additional ways in which dogs differ from most other species. Hille Fieten University of Utrecht ; additional samples were from Dr.

Scott Weldy Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital. Whole plasma and ultrafiltrates with components of Canine plasma separated in large pore SEC had a markedly different profile than that seen in other species. The main Cu peak normally Cp eluted much earlier, peaking in Fraction 20 rather than 29, suggesting it might be much larger.

However Cp protein and enzyme activities also eluted earlier also for other dog typesindicating canine Cp is either aggregated or binding other proteins. Little or no Cu eluted with albumin, consistent with a lower Cu affinity. Many Labrador retrievers also had high plasma levels rim stock market symbol for goldman sachs small Cu carriers SCCs; These results indicate that the roles of canine Cp and albumin differ from those of other mammals, and suggest that activation of SCC production due to a particular mutation in Atp7b may render dogs less susceptible to Cu overload by enhancing loss of excess Cu through the urine.

Kimberly, Tanner; Undergraduate, Chemistry, Sonoma State University, Presenting Author Lares, Monica; Chemistry, Sonoma State University. B-cell activating factor receptor BAFF-R is a protein that belongs to the superfamily of tumor necrosis factor receptors and has been found to regulate B-cell survival. Previously, a BAFF-R aptamer has been exploited for how do you make money on stardoll if your not a superstar endocytosis of medicinal siRNA.

This siRNA has proven to be a practical means of inactivating the mRNA of B-cell oncogenes. The objective of our lab is to find a practical means of synthesizing BAFF-R and to characterize its RNA aptamer interaction. We began by using the hallmark method of transforming a BAFF-R plasmid into E. Coli BL21 and then inducing the cells. After the cells had been induced, cell pellets were obtained and then SDS-PAGE was performed. After several procedures, the BAFF-R protein did not appear on the gel.

A Western Dot Blot was performed hindalco share price nse live also gave further evidence to support the absence empire stockbroker training institute series 7 BAFF-R; this led us to believe that BAFF-R may be toxic to the E.

A toxicity test was conducted by isolating the DNA of induced and non-induced cells and comparing the concentrations by restriction digest and agarose gel. After running the agarose gel, it was clear that the induced cells had much less plasmid than the non-induced cells — an indication that the viability of the induced cells had been compromised.

Due to the fact that E. Coli cells are insufficient for the expression of BAFF-R, our lab is investigating alternative methods of protein synthesis such as the use of insect cells or in vitro synthesis. One of these alternative methods may lead to a successful synthesis of BAFF-R which will in turn allow for the characterization of the BAFF-R and RNA aptamer interaction.

Tritonia diomedea, enzyme, neurotransmission Project Title: Molecular and kinetic properties of acetylcholinesterase isoforms in Tritonia diomedea Author List: Makani, Leena Priya ; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Forex new seminar england folklife University, East Bay, Presenting Author Tran, Vu; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, East Bay Murray, James; Biology, California State University, East Bay Sommerhalter, Monika; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, East Bay.

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Acetylcholinesterase AChE plays an important role in the nervous system, terminating impulse transmissions at cholinergic synapses by hydrolyzing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The marine gastropod Tritonia diomedea a. We discovered at least four different AChE isoforms in the nervous system of T. By characterizing these different AChE isoforms we aim for a better understanding of cholinergic signaling in this invertebrate model organism. We separated cytosolic and membrane associated AChE isoforms from brain and buccal ganglia.

The samples from the nervous system showed similar Michaelis-Menten constants ranging from 0.

Notably, the detergent soluble buccal ganglia sample showed no substrate inhibition. The physiological implications are intriguing. Substrate inhibition modulates the time course of cholinergic signals. At the on-set of the cholinergic signal more neurotransmitter molecules remain at the synaptic cleft as their forex innovation gmbh degradation is attenuated. At signal termination the AChE activity increases as substrate concentration diminishes.

The membrane associated AChE isoform in the buccal ganglia hence does not attenuate neurotransmitter degradation at the cholinergic on-set. To complement this data set we aim to determine the apparent molecular weight and oligomerization state of the AChE isoforms. We tested two different staining protocols for native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using commercially purified AChE from electric eel.

The traditional AChE staining method developed by Karnowsky and Roots with acetylthiocholine, copper sulfate, and ferricyanide required at least 10 micrograms of purified enzyme. In contrast, an optimized cholinesterase staining procedure standard chartered bank malaysia foreign exchange rate on alpha-naphthylacetate and fast blue BB salt required as little as 0.

Our most current trial with AChE containing hemolymph showed that further sample optimization is necessary to avoid band smearing with unpurified samples.

This project was funded by a Faculty Support Grant for Collaborative Research from CSU East Bay. Listeria monocytogenes, Single-domain antibody, Fluorescence microscopy Project Title: Single-Domain Antibody as an Important Antagonist to Inhibit Listeria Infection Author List: Toride, Moeko; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Mendoza, Matthew; Undergraduate, Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Best rated forex robot Brooks, Cory; Chemistry, California State University, Fresno.

Listeria monocytogenes Listeria is a foodborne pathogen that can induce a best place to farm gold in wow 5.3 infection called listeriosis.

The infection is particularly harmful during pregnancy as the bacteria can penetrate the placental barrier and infect the developing fetus leading to abortion. The bacteria express a surface protein, Internalin B InlBwhich facilitates bacterial invasion into mammalian host cells. InlB is a multi-domain protein that specifically binds the hepatocyte growth factor receptor, c-MET. Interestingly, the Leucine-Rich Repeat LRR domain of InlB constitutes a concave surface which is ideal for receptor-ligand interactions and thus is a suitable target to negate the pathogenicity of Listeria.

The single-domain antibody VHH are antibody fragments derived from the heavy-chain antibody found in camelids. The small size of the VHH, high affinity, and specificity are intriguing prophylactic characteristics of these antibodies. We have isolated several VHHs that bind to the LRR domain of InlB with high affinity.

Therefore, the objective of this research is to validate the hypothesis that InlB specific VHH can neutralize Listeria invasion. The effectiveness of VHH for prevention of Listeria invasion was examined using microscopy.

Green fluorescence protein GFP expressing Listeria were generated by transforming the great depression and the stock market plasmid that encodes for GFP into Listeria cells. The GFP-Listeria was biotinylated and incubated with HeLa cell cultures in the presence and absence of VHH.

The extracellular and attached GFP-Listeria was stained red with streptavidin protein, Money make me feel better max b mp3 conjugate.

The sample was analyzed under a Leica DMI Auto binary options 300 returns usa ea fluorescence microscope.

The HeLa cells infected with GFP-Listeria in the presence of VHH showed that red Listeria cells as many as green Listeria. In contrast, HeLa cells infected with GFP-Listeria simulate trading stocks online canada the absence of VHH showed only few red Listeria cells while many green Listeria cells were observed.

In conclusion, best place to farm gold in wow 5.3 fluorescence microscopy experiment demonstrated that VHH successfully inhibits Listeria invasion into HeLa super easy forex. The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health grant: West Nile Virus, Medicinal Chemistryprotease inhibitor Project Title: Synthesis and Evaluation of Small Molecule Inhibitors for the West Nile Virus NS2B-NS3 protease Author List: Flaviviruses are neuroinvasive, disease-causing viruses that are transmitted to humans via mosquitoes.

They pose a serious threat to human health and are responsible for numerous fatalities each year. West Nile Virus WNV is a prominent species of flavivirus and even though most cases are mildly symptomatic, a significant number can progress to detrimental neurological diseases.

Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral therapeutics for prevention and treatment of WNV infections. However, there is ongoing research to discover an inhibitor for the NS2B-NS3 protease, as a promising therapeutic target. The NS2B-NS3 protease is responsible for cleaving the viral polyprotein at multiple sites to produce the components necessary for the virus to infect and replicate in the host cell.

Therefore, inhibition of this serine protease would essentially halt viral replication and discontinue the spread of the virus in the body. Our laboratory has screened earn money online survey sites libraries by means of a high throughput enzyme assay to identify inhibitors for the WNV NS2B-NS3 protease.

An FDA approved therapeutic drug for the treatment of chronic asthma was identified as an inhibitor for the NS2B-NS3 protease. By performing inhibition studies with detergents at various concentrations, it was validated as a true inhibitor with a competitive mode of inhibition. Through a short structure activity relationship study, we explored the structural appendages of the compound for inhibitor activity and identified the 5-nitroindole to be the active core for inhibition of the NS2B-NS3 protease.

Through short synthetic schemes, we built upon the 5-nitroindole to analyze the effect of placing substituents on the nitrogen in the ring of the indole on inhibition. These substituents were varied by chain length, incorporation of benzenes, and other functional groups. These compounds and their subsequence evaluation by select box option jquery enzymatic assay reveled etrade baby commercials stock market crash the 5-nitro-N-methylated indole connected to a phenyl ring via a sulfonamide linkage exhibited good inhibition for the WNV NS2B-NS3 protease.

It was also determined that the position of the nitro group on the indole is critical for inhibition. With this knowledge new inhibitors are being created that exploit these structural requirements. Identification and Characterization of Two Novel Genes Involved in Lanthanide-dependent Methanol Oxidation Author List: Methylobacterium extorquens is a model organism for understanding methylotrophic growth, which is of particular interest due to its potential to produce value added chemicals such payoff diagram for a short put option bioplastics and biofuels from methanol.

During the first step of methanol metabolism, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde by methanol dehydrogenase MeDH. Vse stock trading game it was discovered that some methylotrophs have the unique ability to oxidize methanol using lanthanides and studies have shown that M.

Lanthanides, also known as rare-earth elements, are of high commercial value for their importance in a wide range of our technologies, from computers to transportation. Mining for lanthanides requires harsh extraction methods that are harmful to the environment. Currently, very little is known about lanthanide-dependent metabolism. To determine the roles of these genes in methanol oxidation, null mutations were constructed in each gene and the mutant strains were assed for growth.

Loss of either gene resulted in a growth defect that was similar binary option bonus no deposit 2016 system 0ne disrupting the xoxF gene itself. XoxF was purified from wild-type and binary trading pros and cons mutant strains.

Intriguingly, though expression of xoxF was how to begin penny stock trading, XoxF protein yields were significantly lower when purified from the mutants. This could suggest that XoxF cannot fold properly in the mutant strains and precipitates out of solution. Of the protein that was purified from the and mutant strains, the specific activity was not detectible and 0.

Future studies will analyze lanthanide content of the purified XoxF-MeDH using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and PQQ content using visible spectroscopy. This work will further our understanding of the requirements for functional XoxF-MEDH protein and further our engineering efforts in the development of a lanthanide recovery platform.

Identifying Protected Making cash flow statement indirect method Acids as a Class of Potent and Selective Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitors Author List: Ramirez, Jennifer; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Gonzalez, Jeannette; Undergraduate, Bloxham stockbrokers directors and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach Schwans, Jason; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach.

Multiple classes of BChE-specific forex plano tx have been evaluated as potential therapeutics to manage the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, and previous studies identified molecules bearing aromatic and carbamate groups as potent inhibitors. We evaluated amino acids bearing the 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl Fmoc group, as Fmoc-amino acids contain aromatic and carbamate groups.

We determined the effect of Fmoc-amino acids on BChE activity via steady-state kinetics experiments monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy and identified Fmoc-Leu-O- Fmoc-Trp-O- and Fmoc-Lys-O- as the most effective inhibitors. Experiments with AChE showed the analogs did not affect activity, suggesting the compounds are specific for BChE.

To investigate the physical basis for cholinesterase selectivity, we calculated the van der Waals volumes of the AChE and BChE active site gorges and the Fmoc-amino acids. Forex hukum islam results suggest the smaller AChE active site gorge is unable to accommodate the Fmoc-amino acids but the larger BChE gorge can accommodate the compounds, thereby providing selectivity.

Together, the results identify Fmoc-amino acids as potent and selective BChE inhibitors. As Fmoc-amino acids are readily synthesized, we are currently investigating if additional analogs and short peptides bearing Fmoc-amino acids are potent and specific BChE inhibitors. This project was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health NIH under award numbers T34GM, UL1GM, and RL5GM, and the National Science Foundation NSF; MRI CHE The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or NSF.

Direct access stock brokers, RNA Binding Proteins, Post-Translational Modifications Project Title: Understanding the role of post-translational modifications on the splicing activity of two related RNA binding proteins Author List: Reynaga, Janice ; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Exchange rate history south african rand pound, Presenting Author Marshall, Collin; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Keppetipola, Niroshika; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton.

Alternative splicing is regulated in part by RNA Binding Proteins. The Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein PTBP is an RNA binding protein that has many functions including alternative splicing regulation and mRNA localization. The PTBP gene family has 3 paralogs; PTBP1, PTBP2 and PTBP3.

The paralogs have high primary structure identity and similar domain organization yet has tissue specific expression patterns and different splicing effects on certain target exons. In our study, we focus on related proteins PTBP1 and PTBP2. PTBP1 is expressed near ubiquitously, however is absent in neurons and muscle cells. PTBP2 is expressed in neurons. The levels of the two proteins change during neuronal differentiation and maturation and this change in protein concentration is critical for neuronal development.

Recent studies indicate that multiple determinants over the regions of the two proteins dictate their differential splicing activity.

Genome-wide mass spectrometry studies indicate that the two proteins are post-translationally modified. The hypothesis underlying ways to earn extra money legitimate studies is that the modifications dictate the differential splicing activity of the two proteins.

To test this, we have overexpressed PTBP1 and PTBP2 in HEKT and mouse N2A cells and assayed via Western Blot. We have probed for protein phosphorylation via Phos-Tag Gel Electrophoresis.

We have probed for ubiquitiantion and acetylation using modification specific antibodies via Western Blot. We have purified Flag-tagged PTBP1 and PTBP2 via Flag-Immunoprecipitation for mass spectrometry analysis for post-translational modifications. Preliminary results indicate that forex hedge funds proteins are modified in HEKT, N2A cells and that they have different interacting partner proteins.

San Diego State University Poster Category: NMRSpider Silk, Cryo-EM Project Title: Probing Silk Protein Oligomeric Assemblies in Spider Silk Glands with NMR Diffusion Measuements and Cryo-EM Author List: Onofrei, David ; Graduate, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, Presenting Author Larson, Tanor ; Undergraduate, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University Villalba, Alex; 30 second best binary option forum, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University Holland, Gregory; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego Forex hukum islam University.

As biotechnology moves towards renewable and environmentally friendly materials, biopolymers have emerged as promising replacements for the petrochemical-based polymers commonly used to date.

Spider silks are a broad category of biopolymers that have a multitude of useful properties including strengths that surpass most man-made materials. We have applied a host of experiments to probe the molecular origins of these properties and have already made strides in understanding the secondary structural contributions to silk fibers using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance NMR and other techniques.

However, the mechanisms currency trader resume the actual formation of these fibers remains a mystery.

Silk fibers are synthesized and stored in specialized glands until they are sent to the spinneret via a duct where the solvated protein fibrils begin to nucleate and finally are spun as solid fibers essentially on demand. In our most recent work, we have focused on silk protein diffusion measurements with NMR, and high-resolution imaging using cyro-electron microscopy cryo-EM on the silk protein spinning solution.

From the combination of these two techniques, we have begun to form a working model of the silk protein structure, dynamics and organization in the silk-producing gland. By treating the silk protein solution with a denaturant such as urea, the silk protein oligomers could be broken up as confirmed by an increasing diffusion coefficient as a function of time in urea.

We correlated this to the possibility of protein micelle-like structures where the hydrophobic core regions of silk proteins are buried and only the polar terminal regions are exposed to solvent.

Preliminary data from cryo-EM illustrates the presence of spherical globular structures on the order of nm in diameter and very well could be the first images of these silk protein assemblies.

Lastly, dynamic light scattering DLS is being applied to a dilute solution of these structures to give complimentary information on silk protein oligomer size and morphology. Based on this hypothesis, spider silk formation could conceivably be controlled by modulating the conditions that lead to the formation of these protein micelles that are expected to be the site of biopolymer fiber nucleation.

The importance of lysine residues of the C-terminal domain of apolipoprotein A-I to for the binding to lipopolysaccharides Author List: Voong, Calvin; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Weers, Paul; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach.

Human apolipoprotein A-I apoA-I is the major protein in high density lipoprotein, which plays an important role in facilitating reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral tissues to the liver super easy forex processing.

In recent years, studies have shown that apoA-I exhibits antimicrobial properties, in which positively charged lysine residues bind to negatively charged membrane components of gram-negative bacteria, such as lipopolysaccharides LPS and phosphatidylglycerol PG. LPS has been known to induce sepsis and septic shock, a condition in which the endotoxic lipid A portion induces an overreaction of the immune system, leading to organ damage and eventually death. ApoA-I contains 15 positively charged lysine residues, which may play an important role in binding and neutralizing negatively charged LPS and PG.

In this study, the binding interaction between the lysine residues of the CT domain of apoA-I earn money autopilot LPS will be investigated.

The 6 positively charged lysine residues of CT-apoA-I were mutated to glutamine CT-apoA-I 6KQa polar uncharged amino acid. CT-apoA-I 6KQ binding to LPS was studied by non-denaturing PAGE and tryptophan fluorescence. Non-denaturing PAGE analysis showed that the binding interaction of CT-apoA-I 6KQ with LPS was reduced compared to wild-type apoA-I. Tryptophan reserve bank of india exchange rates for dollar intensity of wild-type apoA-I increased upon LPS addition, indicating an altered tryptophan environment resulting from a binding interaction between apoA-I and LPS.

However, the fluorescence emission intensity of CT-apoA-I 6KQ remained unchanged upon LPS addition. These results indicate that the ability of the lysine mutant to bind to LPS was diminished and that lysine residues of CT-apoA-I are important in binding to gram-negative bacterial membranes. To better understand the interaction between wild-type and CT-apoA-I 6KQ with the bacterial membrane, future studies will include investigation of the binding how to get money in nfs most wanted android of apoA-I with PG vesicles.

This research was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of position calculator forex National Institutes of Health under award number SC3GM and R25GM Lipoprotein, Chimera, Protein structure Project Title: Kakutani, Leesa; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Horn, James; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach Weers, Paul; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach Narayanaswami, Vasanthy; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach.

Human apolipoprotein E apoE is a two-domain anti-atherogenic lipid transport protein best timeframes for trading in binary options mediates plasma cholesterol homeostasis by serving as a ligand for the low density lipoprotein LDL receptor.

The CT domain residues is responsible for tetramerization and has been found to initiate lipid binding that influences critical functional features of apoE. To better understand the role the apolipoprotein domains play in structure and function, a novel chimeric apolipoprotein was designed by attaching apoE-CT to apoLp-III.

A disulfide bond was introduced to apoLp-III to lock the helix bundle and eliminate its lipid binding. Western blot analysis using monoclonal apoE-CT specific antibody confirmed the presence of apoE-CT in the chimera.

Our results suggest that the chimeric protein has structural features similar to the parent proteins, and that self-association properties of apoE can be transferred to apoLp-III. Future studies will include measuring the ability of the chimera to solubilize phospholipid bilayers and binding to low density lipoproteins. The chimeric approach offers the potential to obtain insight into domain interactions and the structure-function relationships in apolipoproteins.

This research was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH 8UL1GM, 8TL4GM, 8RL5GM, GM and GM CSU Bakersfield Poster Category: Coffee, Cancer, Phytochemicals Project Title: The Impact of the Degree of Roast Levels of Coffee Extracts on its Most profitable assets for binary options Anticancer Activity Author List: Mojica, Benigno; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Bakersfield, Presenting Author Forester, Sarah; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Bakersfield.

According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the United States for both men and women. Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and is regarded for its stimulating and anticancer effects. Brewed coffee contains numerous phytochemicals that are beneficial to consumer health.

Of those phytochemicals found in coffee, some are known antioxidants with anticancer qualities. The amount of total beneficial compounds present in coffee can be affected at any point from the harvest to the actual preparation of the beverage.

In this study, we compared the anticancer activities various freeze dried coffee beverages, differing only in their roast treatments. The freeze dried coffee samples were re-suspended in cell culture media and incubated with human HT colon cancer cells at various dilutions of the original brew concentrations. After 72 h of treatment, cell viability was quantified.

The green coffee treatment had the least potent growth inhibitory properties followed by the cinnamon coffee. The City, full city, and full city plus coffees all had similar growth inhibitory properties with respect to anticancer potency, and were found to reduce colon cancer cell viability to a greater extent compared to the cinnamon or green coffee treatments.

In conclusion, the consumption of coffee at medium to full roast, along with a healthy and balanced diet, may contribute to the prevention of colon cancer. DNA binding by terpyridine based anti-tumor candidates and their complexes Author List: Ward, Ashley; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge, Foreign exchange currency converter cibc Author De Jeronimo Diaz, Cesar; Undergraduate, Kinesiology, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Kelson, Eric; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge.

Interestingly, Terpys also exhibit selectivity for tumor cells over normal ones likely by exploiting a specific means of uptake. Despite this promise, Terpys are largely unexplored due to difficulties in preparing them. We have developed methodologies for conveniently making Terpys and their ruthenium complexes with appendages designed to intercalate DNA. The purpose of this work is to survey these new compounds for their binding to DNA and deduce the features that give the best affinity.

A battery of techniques were employed to survey the strength and nature of binding to DNA. First, DNA binding was confirmed by changes in the UV-visible spectrum of the agent as it was titrated with DNA. The relative strength of DNA binding was probed through attenuation of ethidium bromide fluorescence as it was competitively displaced from DNA during agent addition. To distinguish DNA binding by intercalation, the viscosity of DNA solutions was measured for increases with agent binding.

Further, minor grove binding was assessed through the attenuation of Hoechst Blue fluorescence as it was competitively displaced from DNA by agent binding. Terpy itself was confirmed as a good DNA intercalator as a control. Surprisingly NapTerpy with a 1-naphthyl group only modestly bound DNA but still appeared to intercalate through the major grove. PhanTerpy bearing a 9-phenanthryl group appeared to have a greater affinity for DNA.

Ruthenium complexes of Terpy and TerpyTerpy were good binders of DNA, forex plano tx they appeared to bind electrostatically in the major grove rather than intercalating.

This indicated that metal bound and pendant unbound Terpy groups did not intercalate like free Terpy. Surprisingly, ruthenium complexes of NapTerpy were poor binders of DNA suggesting that the Nap group was too small for stable intercalation.

However, ruthenium complexes of PhanTerpy were good DNA binders though they intercalated via the minor grove. Overall, substitution of Terpy inhibits its own intercalation into DNA, but large polyaromatic appendages restore this ability in the free ligands and their complexes. We thank CSUPERB Research Development Grant and the NIH SCORE S06 GM, GM, 8TL4GM, and 5RL5MD for support. Interaction between Ferris bueller stock market, a kDA molecular chaperone, and phosphatidylserine in stressed human cells Author List: Bilog, Andrei; Graduate, Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Labanieh, Cedra; Undergraduate, Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Nikolaidis, Nikolas; Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton.

Seventy-kilodalton heat shock proteins Hsp70s are molecular chaperones essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and survival. Apart from their indispensable roles in protein homeostasis specific Hsp70s also localize at the plasma membrane and bind to several lipids, including phosphatidylserine PS. The interaction of Hsp70s with PS has direct physiological outcomes including activation of the immune system, microautophagy, and regulation of cell death.

However, the conditions that trigger and promote the interaction between HspA1A and intracellularly localized PS in human cells remain unknown. To shed light to this newly described property of HspA1A, sbi dollar buying rate india tested whether heat-shock, a stress known to affect both HspA1A expression and membrane lipid composition, triggers the binding of the chaperone to PS.

To test this prediction, we first determined whether HspA1A and the C2 domain of lactadherin Lact-C2a known PS-biosensor, compete for binding to intracellular PS. Specifically, HeLa cells were subjected to mild heat-shock and the competition was assessed by quantifying the amount of membrane localized HspA1A in the presence or absence of the Lact-C2 protein. These experiments were verified using cell surface biotinylation. In these experiments, HeLa cells, after heat-shock were incubated with membrane impermeable biotin, lysed, and incubated with streptavidin agarose beads, and the biotinylated proteins were analyzed by western blots and quantified using densitometry.

Additional imaging experiments revealed colocalization between HspA1A and fluorescently labeled PS Topfluor-PS. This discovery institutes PS as a new and dynamic partner in the cellular stress response and establish the required foundation to directly assess the biological implications of this newly described and largely uncharacterized function of Hsp70s. Design of an Orthotic Device for Restoration of Normal Physiological Gait Author List: Shehab, Ahmed ; Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Al Hazza, Abdulsahib; Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Rocha, Hilen ; Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton Alkharas, Abdullaziz; Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton Ghosh, Shramana; University of California, Irvine, Presenting Author Robson, Nina; Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton.

Restoration of mobility following stroke or spinal cord injuries is a major task in neuro-rehabilitation. Modern concepts of motor learning favor intense task-specific repetitive gait therapy.

While the latter has shown great promise, this method has many disadvantages: To alleviate these issues, during the last two decades, a number of robotic orthotics, mobility aids and exoskeletons have been designed. The current project hypothesis is that developing of a multi-axis knee mechanism will provide a more natural hip movement and lead to jquery set selected option based on text comfort for users compared to the traditionally used single axis knee design orthotics.

In relation to that, a prototype of a wearable walking device incorporating a four-bar multi-axes knee was designed taking into account contact and curvature specifications between the foot and the ground in vicinity of the two key positions: The tests showed that the hip height of subjects wearing the device lifts up by 2. At the same time, while using the device, the hip height sags by 7. Increased stride length with The stride length of the developed wearable device was short by Based on these results, it was concluded that the inclusion of passive knee mechanism is not sufficient for gk forex trading natural walking gait.

As a next step, a new wearable orthotic device that guides the knee, ankle and foot along a natural walking trajectory was stock broker offshore, based on motion capture data for a healthy human subject walking at 0.

An eight-bar Stephenson II function generator was designed setting indicators on the zigzag hour timeframe binary options coordinate the angular motion of the knee and the ankle from the data collected. Of the obtained design candidates, the most compact solution was used for the development of the new wearable orthotic device. The device was deployed in parallel to the human lower extremity and showed promising results of enabling repetitive practice of gait-like patterns.

Future directions include further testing and assessment of the performance of the physical prototype, using motion capture system, force-plates and electromyogram EMG studies. Using Drosophila Reporters to Evaluate Metal Uptake, ROS Production, and Chelation in Drosophila S2 Cells and Human HeLa and Neuroblastoma Cells Author List: Fejzic, Hannah; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, San Bernardino, Presenting Author Gallardo, Jennifer ; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, San Bernardino Garcia, Kayla; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, San Bernardino Peresuh, Simbarashe; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, Presenting Author Rager, Kaythryn; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, San Bernardino Talavera, Estevan; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, San Bernardino.

The goal of our project is to determine the rates of metal uptake and reactive oxygen species ROS production in Drosophila S2 cells and human HeLa and neuroblastoma cells using a Drosophila metal- and ROS-sensitive luciferase reporter.

An additional goal was to use these reporters to examine the effects of metal chelation in ROS production in these cells since metal chelators are suggested as potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

First, we performed time course experiments to estimate the rates of metal uptake and ROS production in S2 cells by measuring the luciferase signals from the Mtn and SOD promoters after treating the cells with Cu, Fe, and Zn for different time periods. From this study, we found that the luciferase signal from the Mtn promoter construct increased linearly over time when the cells were treated with Cu and Zn, but not with Fe.

This trend was also observed with the SOD promoter construct. Together these results indicate a correlation between increased Cu and Zn uptake and increased ROS levels in S2 cells. For our chelation tests, we used EDTA, citrate, and histidine because they have been suggested as potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

We performed the chelation experiments in Drosophila S2 cells and human HeLa and SHSY cells by measuring the luciferase activities from the Mtn and SOD promoters in cells treated either with Cu, Fe, or Zn in the presence or absence of EDTA, histidine, or citrate.

Our results suggest that citrate is able to chelate Zn, thus reducing its ability to generate ROS. The same effect was observed in HeLa and SHSY-5Y cells with the Mtn promoter construct. In addition to this, we found that in HeLa cells treated with Cu and histidine, there was a 2-fold decrease in Mtn-luciferase activity relative to cells treated with histidine alone. There was also a significant decrease in Mtn-luciferase activity in SHSY-5Y cells treated with Fe and all three chelators relative to cells treated with Fe alone.

This project was supported by the CSUSB PRISM Program NSF DMS Orthotic Arm, Electromyography signals, retraining Project Title: Electromyography EMG signals controlled Assistive Orthotic Robotic Arm for Forearm Movement Author List: Mangukiya, Yamik; Graduate, Electrical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author George, Kiran; Computer Engineering, California State University, Fullerton.

There are nearly 1 in 50 people that is approximately six million people affected by paralysis, which restrains the free movements of human body parts. Such people rely on support system that can aid motion and force enhancement to body parts affected by paralysis. The most commonly used support system are prosthetic and orthotic devices.

Prosthetics are artificial extensions used to replace the missing body parts or supplement the defective body parts. Whereas, orthotic devices are external mechanical structures that support non-functional body parts which are actuated by motors. This study presents an orthotic robotic arm that can help in retraining flexion and extension movements of forearm of person affected by stroke.

This signals are processed to remove noise and other unwanted signal artifacts and to extract certain statistical features reflecting the forearm movements. Further this signals are used to recognize the forearm movement and identify the states of forearm as a flexion or extension. Based on this states, the actuators of the orthotic robotic arm are controlled. The actuators and supporting robotic arm helps to lift up or lift down the forearm of the paralyzed patients.

Also the robotic arm has safety controller for involuntary arm movements, where actuators are not activated if semi flexion or extension movements are detected. Preliminary results suggest that the orthotic robotic arm has potential to improve the mobility of hand movements of paralyzed person.

Proteomic and transcriptomic support for involvement of cyanobacterial lipid droplets in carotenoid metabolism and sequestration of toxic metabolites Author List: Fuentes, Nicole; Graduate, Environmental and Occupational Health, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Arias, Daisy; Graduate, Biology, California State University, Northridge, Presenting Author Philmus, Benjamin; Oregon State University Summers, Michael; Biology, California State University, Northridge.

Lipid droplets LDs from the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme are enriched in compounds with biotechnological potential such as neutral lipids, vitamin E, carotenoids, small amounts of a C17 alkanes. To understand the formation and function of these LD associated compounds, isolated LD proteins were subjected to proteomic analysis. The KEGG database however does not list this protein as part of the carotenoid pathway, so its involvement was investigated. A CFP-fusion strain made LDs lacking their normal yellow color, and lack of carotenoids was confirmed by HPLC analysis, thus supporting the hypothesis that the attached CFP blocked multimer formation required for activity.

Together these results support: This work has biotechnological applications for future use of cyanobacteria as expression platforms, utilizing LDs to reduce toxicity and allow increased accumulation of useful bioproducts.

Enhancing Mechanism Kinematics Course through Biomechanics and Biochemistry Experiences Author List: Mocanu, Iulian; Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Ahir, Vishalkumar; Graduate, Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Robson, Nina; Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fullerton. This project discusses results of introducing faculty research in the areas of human and protein kinematics within a junior engineering Kinematics of Mechanisms course, with the main goal of preparing the students to be critical thinkers, multidisciplinary problem solvers and life-long learners.

Traditionally, the Kinematics of Mechanisms is taught as a focused lecture course for mechanical engineers, presenting knowledge on analysis, design and construction of mechanical systems, without any reference to kinematics of existing mechanisms in Biotechnology in general. During the past year, new interactive activities and multidisciplinary research projects were developed and incorporated within the course. Within the surveys, students were required to outline questions that they were asking themselves while working on each project.

The questions were then categorized according to relevance to the desired outcomes. These results show that the developed methods prove efficient not only for learning new material, but also in transferring earned skills to tasks of greater difficulty, i. The idea of enhancing a junior mechanical engineering course with research activities related to application of knowledge to different bio-related domains is novel.

In future, with sufficient changes the new activities could be adopted in different biotechnological courses. Health Promotion Research Institute, CSUF. Platelets, Storage, Clot biomechanics Project Title: A Chilling Story of Structure and Function Author List: Functional platelets are critical in hemostasis. At the site of injury, activated platelets generate thrombin that converts soluble plasma fibrinogen to polymeric fibrin clot; and then actively contract the clot to increase the strength so as to effectively dam excessive bleeding.

Currently, platelets are stored up to 5 days at room temperature RT with gentle agitation. However, this standard of care is suboptimal due to progressive loss of platelet function, increased risk of bacterial contamination, poor shelf-life, and transportation logistics. The rheological properties including clot stiffness, strength, and contractile forces were estimated by cone-and-plate rheometry.

The structural properties of the clots developed from fresh platelets or stored platelets were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and various attributes such as fibrin diameter, density and tortuousity or curvature were quantified.

Platelet-fibrinogen interactions were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy, and thrombin generation was assayed. We observed that clots formed from i cold-stored platelets have clot stiffness and strength similar to that fresh of platelets, and fold higher than those from RT-stored platelets; ii cold-stored platelets were characterized by thinner, shorter and less tortuous fibers and increased fibrin density compared to RT-stored platelets; iii cold-stored, but not RT-stored, platelets adhered and spread on fibrinogen-coated surfaces; and iv stored platelets generated more thrombin than fresh platelets.

Cold stored platelets form clots with superior rheological properties compared to RT-stored platelets, which is a result of the underlying fibrin architecture due to better platelet-fibrinogen interactions and thrombin generation. Thus, cold stored platelets may be a viable storage alternative associated with better outcome post trauma. Alginate Microbead Synthesis on an 3D-printed, Automated Platform Author List: Esqueda, Genesis; Undergraduate, Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Grosvirt-Dramen, Adam ; Undergraduate, Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Venkatraman, Rahul; Graduate, Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach Lo, Roger; Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach.

The role of microbeads in biomedical applications is continuing to increase due to their relatively large surface area and adaptability for drug delivery vehicles, cell encapsulation, single-cell studies, and medical diagnostics and imaging.

The biocompatibility of alginate makes it a viable material for microbeads used in these applications. However, traditional methods for the microbead synthesis have shown to be time-consuming and ineffective for continuous synthesis. This study aims to develop an automated platform for continuous microbead synthesis by means of 3D printing and microfluidics.

The 3D-printing technology is used to reduce the manufacturing time and costs of the microfluidic devices for high-throughput production of alginate microbeads with precise control over size and shape.

Alginate microbeads were generated on a 3D-printed microfluidic device by emulsifying an aqueous alginate solution in an oil phase, followed by ionic crosslinking. We have designed and fabricated the first prototype microfluidic device and successfully carried out a continuous synthesis that can produce microbeads of A new design is being developed for smaller beads.

This microbead synthesis is now controlled by manually adjusting the flow rates of reagents from the pump control panel. We are currently developing a control unit using the open-source Arduino board and Python language to automate the synthesis process. Quality-of-life, Navigation, wheelchair Project Title: Autonomous Wheelchair Navigation System for Individuals with Severe Disabilities Author List: Grewal, Harkishan Singh; Undergraduate, Computer Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Matthews, Aaron Preston; Undergraduate, Computer Engineering, California State University, Fullerton Tea, Richard Jayavarman; Undergraduate, Computer Engineering, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author George, Kiran; Computer Engineering, California State University, Fullerton.

Electric wheelchairs restore mobility and independence to those with injuries limiting their movements. However, people suffering from motor neuron degeneration diseases, such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALSlack the fine motor control to benefit for electric wheelchairs, leaving them dependent on others and reducing their quality of life.

In this study, we seek to mitigate this problem by developing a wheelchair capable of autonomous navigation, with minimal input form the user. We use robot operating system ROSmicro-controllers, rotary encoders, and a LIDAR unit to modify an electric wheelchair. The LIDAR unit provides measurements of the environment which are used to develop a map of the surroundings. The micro-controllers take input from the LIDAR and rotary encoders to develop a navigation path to a target location.

The micro-controllers send signals to the control system of the wheelchair to move it along the designed path. We configured the ROS software to adapt to changes in the environment and reroute the wheelchair if new obstacles emerge.

We tested the navigation system in three different environments: We conducted five trials for each environment. The wheelchair suffered a localization error during trial 1 and 5, where it was unable to localize its initial position. The wheelchair recovered and completed trial 1, but was unable to do so in trial 5.

Based on these preliminary results, the autonomous navigation system shows potential to navigate a variety of environments with hope of restoring complete indoor mobility. We hope to correct for the localization error and add more sensors to give the wheelchair a refined sense of the environment. We also hope to test the navigation system in more varied environments with wider range of obstacles. Addiction, animal model, behavior Project Title: Alcohol reward in periadolescent male and female rats Author List: Bates, Emily; Graduate, Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Yang, Yeji; Undergraduate, Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Pentkowski, Nathan; University of New Mexico Zavala, Arturo; Psychology, California State University, Long Beach.

Alcohol is the most commonly abused recreational substance that is first consumed during adolescence. Preclinical research examining the rewarding effects of alcohol in adolescence, as assessed using the conditioned place preference CPP paradigm, have resulted in weak or inconsistent results.

The present study sought to examine whether ascending doses of alcohol during conditioning produces more robust alcohol-induced CPP compared to a fixed dosing regimen during conditioning. Support for this hypothesis is indicated by recent studies demonstrating more robust cocaine-induced CPP using ascending doses of cocaine during conditioning compared to fixed doses during conditioning. Beginning on postnatal day PD 23, male and female periadolescent rats underwent a day alcohol CPP procedure.

On days 1 and 10, rats were tested for their pre-conditioning and post-conditioning place preferences, respectively, during min sessions. On daysrats were conditioned for min with saline or alcohol on alternative days.

During alcohol conditioning days, rats were randomly assigned to receive either ascending alcohol doses 0. Results reveal differences in the strength of CPP in a dose dependent manner between fixed vs ascending dosing of alcohol during conditioning, with the latter producing more robust CPP. Overall, these results suggest that the pattern of doses used during conditioning sessions may be play an important role in elucidating the rewarding effects of alcohol. CSU Monterey Bay Poster Category: T-cell, Immunotherapy, Galectin Project Title: Galectin-3 Inhibitor GR-MD Increases CD8 T Cell Infiltration of MCA Tumors Author List: Martin, Leah; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, Monterey Bay, Presenting Author McNamara, Michael; Postdoc, Robert W.

Franz Cancer Research Center Linch, Stephanie; Postdoc, Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center Kasiewicz, Melissa; Staff, Robert W.

Franz Cancer Research Center Hilgart-Martiszus, Ian; Staff, Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center Farhad, Mohammad;Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center Traber, Peter; Galectin Therapeutics Inc.

Redmond, William; Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center. Galectin-3 Gal3, lgals3 is a carbohydrate-binding protein that is produced by both leukocytes and cancer cells.

Serum Gal3 levels have been shown to be elevated in patients with metastatic melanoma relative to patients with non-metastatic melanoma. These increased Gal3 levels are thought to help promote metastasis and angiogenesis of tumors.

Gal3 has also been found to inhibit tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes TIL by disrupting T-cell receptor TCR signaling, while promoting anti-inflammatory functions M2 polarization in macrophages.

Gal-3 has been associated with various pathological and physiological processes that play a role in cell differentiation and growth, cell adhesion, chemo-attraction, apoptosis and cell cycle regulation.

The purpose of this research project is to better understand how a Gal3 inhibitor, GR-MD, impacts the tumor microenvironment and whether GR-MD is synergistic with an OX40 agonist mAb OX Tumors were harvested from these mice and analyzed by Immunohistochemistry IHC and microarray transcriptome profiling.

These experiments resulted in three key findings: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Poster Category: Type VI secretion system, Dienes line, Vibrio parahaemolyticus Project Title: Type VI Secretion System Expression of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Intraspecific Competition Author List: Campbell, Alexandra; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Presenting Author Leak, Megan; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Yeung, Marie; Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has reached an alarming level. New ideas must be explored to address this concern. Recently, a new secretion system called type VI secretion system T6SS was found in different organisms that appears to be a defense mechanism.

Previous studies suggest Vibrio spp. In this study, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a common foodborne pathogen in US, is used as a model to study T6SS. The objectives of this study were to evaluate culturing conditions that would stimulate swarming motility in strains of V. Different media brain heart infusion, tryptic soy agar with saltvarying agar concentration 0.

The diameter in cm of growth from the center on a mm agar surface was measured to quantify swarming in varying conditions. The greatest extent of swarming was observed when V.

In these conditions, the strains swarmed on the entire agar surface within 3 days. When two T6SS-positive strains of the same species swarm towards each other, instead of forming a continuous mass, a Dienes line forms at the junction indicating competition between the two strains. Thus, the next step was to detect Dienes line formation. Pairwise testing was performed from the 15 strains, with each pair inoculated 0.

Pairwise testing of identical strains served as the negative control while Proteus mirabilis was used as the positive control. Primers for T6SS genes were designed, which will be used to investigate the expression of T6SS in these Dienes line-positive strains using RT-qPCR. Understanding the conditions of when and how T6SS is expressed will help us develop strategies to harness this secretion system to target antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Funding provided by the Baker and Koob Endowments of Cal Poly SLO. Sacramento State University Poster Category: Retinoid, Sebum, Gas Chromatography Project Title: Retinoid-Induced Changes in the Fatty Acid Profile of Sebum and Its Effect on Bacterial Growth Author List: Andersen, Erich; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento, Presenting Author Valdez, Nico; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento, Presenting Author Crawford, Robert; Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento.

Dysbiosis of the skin microbiome contributes to the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Clinical administration of retinoids have been demonstrated as an effective therapeutic but the role of these compounds in altering the local lipid profile and the growth of local bacteria are not well understood. We hypothesize here crosstalk between treatment-induced lipid secretion and bacteria found in acne patients. Human subjects with acne were recruited in two groups where one group received topical tretinoin and the other group received oral isotretinoin.

Facial sebum was collected through the use of Sebutapes at baseline and after 1 month of therapy, and sebum excretion was measured with a Sebumeter. Sebum was extracted and fatty acid profiles were quantified by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector.

Clinical isolate strains Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus were analyzed hourly for growth over a 12 hour span in the presence or absence of prominent fatty acid fractions determined by GC-FID. Our results suggest that tretinoin did not alter overall sebum production but isotretinoin reduced sebum production by 7. The relative free fatty acid fractions for C However, the growth of S.

Interestingly, transcriptomic analysis using Next Generation Sequencing Technologies showed lipid and species-specific gene expression changes. Collectively, these results indicate that topical and systemic retinoids alter free fatty acid profiles of sebum independent of their effect on the overall sebum production rate and induce changes to growth and gene expression of local bacteria.

These studies were funded by a UC Davis-CSUS Seed Grant. Computational Bio, Chem, Math, Eng, etc. Biomedical Signal Processing, Pulse Latency Onset Detection, Cerebral Blood Flow Project Title: Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity Pulse Onset Latency Estimation: A Comparative Study Author List: Arevalo, Natalie; Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author Scalzo, Fabien; Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles Hamilton, Robert; Neural Analytics, Inc.

Intracranial Pressure ICP is the pressure inside the skull, the brain, and cerebrospinal fluid. If ICP level surpasses a normal range of mmHg, brain tissue could be irreversibly damaged leading to brain death. Currently, ICP is measured through an invasive procedure which carries various risks and complications including bacterial infections and further hemorrhaging.

Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity CBFV signal captured noninvasively through transcranial Doppler, has been shown to carry predictive information about the ICP level. Recent studies indicate that CBFV pulse onset latency can be used as a feature to estimate ICP noninvasively. However, CBFV signal is inherently contaminated with noise and artifacts that obscure the accurate estimation of its pulse onset latency. In this project, we aimed to identify a robust method to accurately estimate the pulse onset latency of CBFV signal.

For this purpose, we implemented two different methods, the Farooq method and the Chen method, that were originally developed for the pulse onset latency estimation of signals other than CBFV, e.

We manually annotated the pulse onset latencies of a large dataset of 91, CBFV pulses using a software developed in-house. The CBFV data was collected from patients who were admitted to UCLA Medical Center for subarachnoid hemorrhage evaluation. We applied each method to our dataset and estimated the CBFV pulse onset latencies of all the pulses.

To evaluate the accuracy of each method, the sensitivity and positive predictivity value PPV were calculated by comparing the estimated results with those of the manual annotation. The results showed that the Farooq method has the higher sensitivity of The Farooq method also achieved the higher PPV of However, the running time of the Chen method was fifteen times lower than that of the Farooq method 31 seconds versus seconds. We conclude that although the Farooq method achieves an acceptable level of accuracy for pulse onset latency estimation, a further improvement of its algorithm in terms of computational complexity may be needed to make it more suitable for real-time application.

This research was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers; 8UL1GM; 8TL4GM; 8RL5GM Steric Effects in the Computational Modeling of Cyclization Reactions of Enediynones Author List: Hoang, Kim Anh; Undergraduate, Chemistry, California State University, Sacramento, Presenting Author Li, Cui; Graduate, Chemistry, California State University, Sacramento Gherman, Benjamin; Chemistry, California State University, Sacramento Spence, John; Chemistry, California State University, Sacramento.

The term enediyne refers to organic compounds containing a carbon-carbon double bond lying between two carbon-carbon triple bonds. These compounds can undergo Bergman cyclization to form transient benzenoid diradicals that have the ability to abstract hydrogen atoms from the deoxyribose moiety on the backbone of DNA strands, causing DNA strand cleavage and inducing cell apoptosis.

As a result, enediynes have been proposed as a core for anticancer drugs. To increase the range of cyclization reactivity, the enediyne is modified by insertion of a carbonyl group, producing an enediynone. This new compound can undergo cyclization along four different pathways, generating new diradical intermediates with simultaneous formation of a 5- 6- or 7-membered ring. Previous experimental study on the cyclization reactivity of unsubstituted enediynones yielded a complicated mixture of products.

Therefore, the aim of this project is to make the product mixture more readily analyzable by adding substituents to provide steric bulk at the alkyne termini. This is intended to disfavor cyclization pathways involving those positions.

Density functional theory DFT calculations are used to determine the energetics of the four reaction pathways of phenyl and naphthyl monosubstituted and disubstituted enediynones to determine the preferred reaction pathways in each case.

To account for dispersion interactions between substituents which occur upon cyclization, empirical dispersion corrections are included within the DFT calculations. A correction based upon coupled-cluster calculations accounts for DFT errors in the interaction between the diradicals and any aromaticity that develops in the newly formed rings. Data show that the addition of aryl substituents to the alkyne termini raises the reaction energetics for pathways involving those positions, while lowering the energies of pathways involving the unsubstituted positions.

In addition, the effect of substituents is on average greater for the reaction energies than for the activation energies. Further, both the dispersion and coupled-cluster corrections are shown to appreciably affect the original DFT reaction energetics and thus to be important aspects of obtaining accurate calculations for enediynone cyclization reactions.

Funding for this project has been provided by California State University, Sacramento to K. Mathematical Model to Noninvasively Detect Dry-Eye Diseases Author List: Nguyen, Trini; Undergraduate, Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author Lee, Charles; Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Presenting Author.

Wavelength-dependent interferometry is a non-invasive technique that can accurately diagnose patients with dry-eye diseases. The method requires shining a light onto the surface of the eye while measuring its reflectance, which then allows for the thicknesses of the tear film layers to be extracted implicitly based on the resulting reflectance. Since there are several layers of the tear film overlaying the cornea, light must be emitted at multiple wavelengths to produce sufficient degrees of freedom to determine the thicknesses of the lipid and the aqueous layers of the eye.

In a patent, a mathematical model for the measurement of the reflectance is presented. However, the model only fitted well in some cases and not for other sets of data because it lacked the usage of the scalar light scattering theory, which accounts for the light that is scattered at an optically rough surface.

Instead, the author of the patent added an ad-hoc exponential term to the model to mimic the light scattering effect in order to force the model to fit well with the collected data. As a result, the model is empirical rather than physical. In this work, a mathematical model that describes the reflectance of the eye is derived. The model takes into account electromagnetic properties of the light that is transmitted through several different layers and reflected back to the top layer.

In addition, a numerical scheme based on this preliminary mathematical model has been implemented, which was quite complicated in the patent. The provided algorithm in the patent takes up over ten pages of code and over 45 minutes in time to produce the thicknesses. Our scheme can produce the thicknesses of the different layers of the tear film of the eye within a few seconds, rendering its applicability for a swift and simple clinical diagnosis of dry-eye diseases.

Our future work will include refining the application of the scattering theory into the mathematical model as well as improving the speed of the algorithm. Mathematical Biology, Insect, Simulation Project Title: Field imaging reveals perceptual and navigational strategies of wood ants in naturalistic environments Author List: Arevalo, Erik; Graduate, Biology, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Warnert, Reina; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, Fresno, Presenting Author Mendoza, Austin; Undergraduate, Biology, California State University, Fresno Lent, David; Biology, California State University, Fresno.

When an animal moves through their environment they must identify reliable sensory cues to guide their routes. Identifying reliable sensory cues is not a trivial process because often it is not possible to know in advance which cues may be useful. Animals that rely on vision to navigate through the world must extract and integrate behaviorally relevant visual cues, often from cluttered scenes, so that they can locate a desired goal.

In ants, a number of studies have identified several visual cues that can guide an ant when navigating, however, as to how the cues are perceived or prioritized is unknown. Our study aims to understand how ants value cues and how specific cues or combination of cues comes to be learned. In order to investigate visual processes in ants, we used image processing and computational studies of natural scenes. First we simulated a foraging route in MATLAB using a Levy walk, which is a mathematically optimized search strategy, and generated series of X and Y points to be mapped out in the field.

With these points determined, we went in to the field to collect images for analysis. We took a series of panoramic images that were by 80 degrees along a simulated foraging route in a wooded area Allergy Free Garden on the Fresno State campus.

Once images were collected we processed them through our algorithms that: Once image stacks from the route were collected and processed, we searched for the cues that were most stable during the random walk. Our study of navigation over both short distances and long distances suggest that the edge information was sufficient to guide the ant on subsequent routes. That is, if the ants only used a stored representation of the edges during subsequent foraging events they were able to get from start to end in a relatively straight trajectory using image matching.

These results have provided insight into the mechanisms involved in prioritization and perception of visual information. This study also demonstrates that image-matching foraging can be accomplished with storage of minimal information. Several replications of new foraging routes are being completed to support data. Additionally, this work has let us investigate how memory can be optimized in simple networks and nervous systems.

Molecular Dynamics, Protein Design, Thermal Stability Project Title: Computational Study of the Effects of Variable Temperatures on Protein Secondary Structure and Stability Author List: Chittoor Prem, Aishani; Graduate, Biomedical Informatics, San Diego State University, Presenting Author Suon, Peter; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University Lokensgard, Melissa; Graduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University Love, John; Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University.

Comparing the folding mechanisms of proteins with similar secondary structures yet with different sequences can provide fundamental insights in understanding important properties of proteins. Molecular Dynamics MD is a computational tool used to analyze protein dynamics and, in our study, the thermal stability of proteins on an atomistic level.

Here, we describe the use of the AMBER 14 MD package to carry out computer simulations on two sets of protein mutants in order to understand the effect that point mutations in the core of a protein have on surrounding secondary structure elements and on overall protein thermal stability. MD simulations were conducted on a series of different mutants at simulated temperatures that ranged from K to K in 25K increments. The purpose was to study and analyze the energies and conformational changes that occur within the series of mutant test proteins at increasing temperatures.

In a number of interesting cases, point mutations in the hydrophobic core reduced the residence time of certain main-chain hydrogen bonds for positions that were not in close proximity to the mutations.

Computational evidence complimenting experimental results entailing the thermal stability of these mutants was found by analyzing their conformational changes during the course of these simulations. A major focus of this project is to adapt this form of dynamic simulations as a useful approach for providing computational results that are complementary to experimental data.

The goal is to apply rigorous analysis that can be used as a pipeline for guiding protein design projects by providing a robust bridge between theory and experiment. Cancer, Machine Learning, RNA-seq Project Title: A Comparison of Different Machine Learning Algorithms for Predicting Gene Essentiality in Cancer Cell Lines Author List: Hansen, Blake; Undergraduate, Math and Statistics, California State University, Monterey Bay, Presenting Author Jue, Nathaniel; School of Natural Sciences, California State University, Monterey Bay.

Cancer is a heterogenous disease, arising from many different genetic mutations, producing many different unique types of tumors, each dependent upon different genes to maintain its cancerous phenotype. The purpose of this study is to determine which machine learning algorithm or combination of algorithms can most effectively predict gene essentiality from genomic data.

We expect that an ensemble of different approaches will predict gene essentiality more accurately than any individual approach. Cancer Cell line data was collected from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia gene expression and copy number variation and the Achilles Project shRNA-based gene essentiality measurements.

Three different algorithms Random Forest RFMultiple Pathway Learning MPLglmnet were trained on a subset of the data and used to predict essentiality in the withheld samples.

Two of the methods RF and glmnet directly use genomic data as its features, while MPL first aggregates genomic data on the pathway level and then uses the pathway aggregates as features. Predictions for each gene across withheld samples were correlated with the gene essentiality scores measured by the Achilles Project via spearman correlation. Models were compared based on their mean correlation across all genes.

The model that had the highest mean spearman correlation with the Achilles Project measurements was 0. Enzymes for cellulose, xylan, and chitin deconstruction in fungi Author List: Berlemont, Renaud; Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Presenting Author. In many environments, fungi are important for the degradation of polysaccharides.

This process is central to nutrients mobilization and carbon cycling. The breakdown of polysaccharides by fungi requires the production of glycoside hydrolases GH and oxidative enzymes LPMOsometime associated with accessory non-catalytic domain e. Here the taxonomic distribution and the diversity of 10, proteins targeting cellulose, xylan, and chitin from sequenced fungal genomes are described. The potentials to degrade cellulose, xylan and chitin, based on annotated genes, are conserved within genera.

However, even between closely related taxa e. Among others, we identified multi activity proteins with multiple catalytic domains and endowed with the potential to target multiple substrates e.

These enzymes with unique domain association are interesting potential new catalysts for industrial polysaccharide deconstruction e. Population genetics, Biocontrol, Bioinformatics Project Title: Demographic histories of three predatory lady beetles reveal complex patterns of diversity and population size change in the United States Author List: Sethuraman, Arun; Biological Sciences, California State University San Marcos Vasquez, Yumary; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University San Marcos, Presenting Author Rubio, Michael; Undergraduate, Biological Sciences, California State University San Marcos, Presenting Author Janzen, Fredric; Iowa State University Obrycki, John; University of Kentucky.

Predatory lady beetles Coccinellidae contribute to biological control of agricultural pests, however, multiple species frequently compete for similar resources in the same environment. Numerous studies have examined the ecological interactions of the native North American convergent lady beetle Hippodamia convergens and two introduced species, the seven spotted lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata and the Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridisin agricultural fields and described multi-year population dynamics.

However, the evolutionary dynamics of these interacting predatory beetles are uncharacterized. Here we utilize publicly available multi-locus genotype data mitochondrial and microsatellite from geographically disjunct populations of these three species to estimate demography across populations in North America.

Considering that these estimates are based on two different types of genetic data with differences in mutation rates mitochondrial versus nuclearthese dynamic and differing population size histories warrant further studies of the interactions of these predatory lady beetles in the field, and consequences of population size change for evolutionary trajectories in North America.

Sphingomyelin Protects Keratinocytes from UVB Induced Reactive Oxygen Species Author List: Kandell, Rebecca; Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Presenting Author Kandell, Jennifer; Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Presenting Author Shah, Nikita; Graduate, Biomedical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Laiho, Lily; Biomedical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Skin, the largest organ of our bodies, prevents environmental pathogens and toxic agents from entering. Skin also protects the human body from ultraviolet UV radiation, which significantly contributes to skin cancer. The two most frequently occurring types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma BCC and squamous cell carcinoma SCC.

The latter originates from keratinocytes and is more likely to spread to other organs in the body. Currently, the best chemical filter that protects skin from absorbing UV radiation is sunscreen. Unfortunately, by-products from degradation of sunscreen can be carcinogenic themselves. Organic alternatives to chemical filters are needed to replace chemical UV blockers. Sphingomyelin SMa phospholipid in cell membrane and signaling molecule, may be used to protect keratinocytes.

After a hour incubation with SM, keratinocytes were exposed to UV radiation, which induces reactive oxygen species ROS. ROS harms macromolecules and DNA within the cell and can be stained for visualization and imaged.

Keratinocytes exposed to UV radiation and treated with sphingomyelin produced less reactive oxygen species than when not treated with sphingomyelin. This implies that sphingomyelin may help to deter the harmful effects of UV radiation. CSU Los Angeles Poster Category: Thread-Based Microfluidic Chips as a Platform to Assess Acetylcholinesterase Activity Author List: Gaines, Michelle; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Presenting Author Gonzalez, Ariana; Undergraduate, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles Gomez, Frank; Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles.

It can be difficult to study neurotransmitters e. One way to compensate for lower levels of ACh is to inhibit the AChE enzyme from breaking down ACh. Both had a nylon thread trifurcated into three channels terminating at open sites at the ends of the thread.

One platform had one end of the thread split into two, with the third end cut off. The nylon on the second platform was not trifurcated at the other end, creating a single inlet.

Acetylthiocholine iodide ATC or cysteine, Cysis transported through one channel of the nylon thread by capillary action due to the hydrophilic nature of nylon. AChE is transported through the other channel of nylon thread and mixes with the ATC or Cys as they travel up to the analysis sites. As the solution reaches the analysis sites, an intense yellow color change occurs indicating the reaction of the thiol with DTNB to produce the yellow anion TNB The sites are then dried, scanned, yielding a linear range of inverse yellow mean intensity versus substrate concentration.

An IC50 value 1. The multiplex design enables triplicate data collection in a device that is easy to use. Photophysical, Electrochemical, and Spectroelectrochemical Characterization and Solvent Effect on the Tautomerism of Free-Base Corrole Author List: Corroles are aromatic compounds consisting of four pyrrole-like subunits connected in a ring via three methane bridges and one direct bond between the alpha carbons of two of the subunits.

They have a structure and photophysical properties similar to that of porphyrins, which are currently being researched in blocking tumor progression and metastasis. In photosynthetic bacteria, tetrapyrrolic molecules are used in the light harvesting complexes to channel solar energy towards the reaction complex where photosynthesis occurs.