Many disorders and diseases result from genetic defects resulting in protein mutations that make the protein nonviable. To study the effects of protein loss of function a knockout experiment can be done to destroy or disable the protein in question and then observe the effects of the loss of function. However a high percentage of protein mutations are lethal during embryonic development, so a method must be devised to degrade the proteins in developed adults. This degradation, if from an ingested stimulus, will not be systemic immediately. It takes time for the in-activator to move throughout the body to the desired location. To further the study of these effects a controllable substance must be developed, one that is inactive until it is activated by a controllable stimulus. To allow for diffusion into the tissue of study before activation and protein degradation. This will allow researchers to more accurately study the effects of the loss of the protein as well as have a method for setting an initial time point for the beginning of degradation. To advance this we will attempt to synthesize a caged auxin that can be uncaged by exposure to UV light, for studying protein knockout in C elegans.

Margarine is commonly made by hydrogenation of the unsaturated bonds in edible oils. During this commercial production of margarine from vegetable oils, copper or nickel electrodes are used in place of platinum electrodes as they are more cost-effective. This can result in a trace amount of copper or nickel being electrodeposited into the solution. This experiment will determine the amount of copper and/or nickel in several different available brands of margarine. The margarine was microwave digested before the fatty acids are destroyed with a simple digestion reaction using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The resulting solution will then be tested using ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optic Emission Spectroscopy) to test for the presence of copper or nickel. These will be compared to standardized solutions of known copper and nickel concentrations to determine the exact concentration of copper and/or nickel in each of the specimens. Compared to unsaturated oils such as olive oil, margarine has significantly higher amounts of copper and nickel. The higher amounts of metals in margarine support the claim that the electrodes deposit trace amounts into the finished margarine products.

Pyridines are well-known heterocyclic organic molecules that serve many biological and chemical functions ranging from the composition of multiple coenzymes, cofactors, and essential structures in the metabolic pathways like the Electron Transport Chain.

Pyridines play a vital role in many chemical synthetic pathways, with uses ranging from applications as solvents to organic molecules to precursors in the synthesis of complex drugs. Ruthenium catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloaddition to synthesize functionalized pyridines has been accomplished on a limited scale. We will be attempting to find a novel synthetic route using a three-component system involving triethylsilane-alkynes and dimethylcyanamides.

Poster presented at the University of Utah Snowbird Symposium.

Poster for LLDPEs

The paper also examines the structure of the semicrystalline polymer and presents various structure-property relationship models, that help determine how various structural changes/deformations affect the overall LLDPE polymer, primarily focusing on the basic mechanical properties such as resilience, elasticity, and ductility of the polymer Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE).

Understanding the underlying mechanisms associated with different sex hormones and their modulation in the production of an alarmin interleukin-33, MyD88, TSLP-1, CCL17, and CCL22 in airway epithelial cells (AEC) in the presence of LPS and Alternaria alternata.

Sex hormones have long known to regulate lung development, physiology, and pathology. Studies have shown that sex hormones influence the prevalence, susceptibility, and severity of many chronic diseases. Gender plays a critical role in the consideration of these sex hormones; in order to prevent chronic lung diseases. Estrogen particularly shows an important role in the signaling pathways that leads to the development and progression of multiple respiratory diseases, such as asthma. For our experiments, we are predicting that testosterone (male sex hormone) should reduce alarmin production, whilst estrogen and progesterone should increase alarmin production. Thus complete titration of each hormone in conjunction with treatment with the airway cell stressors is very important to obtain good results.