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- All Subjects: Genetics
- All Subjects: Photosynthesis
- Creators: School of Molecular Sciences
My research aims to determine the effectiveness of meditation and sleep applications (apps) on the reduction of anxiety and stress in college students, with a focus on sedative piano music. Results showed a significant reduction of stress and anxiety levels in college students when listening to sedative piano music versus non-sedative piano music. Music along with other therapy modalities in meditation and sleep apps show promise in reducing students’ anxiety and stress and promoting their successes.
In oxygenic photosynthesis, conversion of solar energy to chemical energy is catalyzed by the<br/>pigment-protein complexes Photosystem II (PSII) and Photosystem I (PSI) embedded within the<br/>thylakoid membrane of photoautotrophs. The function of these pigment-protein complexes are<br/>conserved between all photoautotrophs, however, the oligomeric structure, as well as the<br/>spectroscopic properties of the PSI complex, differ. In early evolving photoautotrophs, PSI<br/>exists in a trimeric organization, but in later evolving species this was lost and PSI exists solely<br/>as a monomer. While the reasons for a change in oligomerization are not fully understood, one<br/>of the 11 subunits within cyanobacterial PSI, PsaL, is thought to be involved in trimerization<br/>through the coordination of a calcium ion in an adjacent monomer. Recently published<br/>structures have demonstrated that PSI complexes are capable of trimerization without<br/>coordinating the calcium ion within PsaL.<br/>5 Here we explore the role the calcium ion plays in both<br/>the oligomeric and spectroscopic properties in PSI isolated from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
The goal of this project was to design and create a genetic construct that would allow for <br/>tumor growth to be induced in the center of the wing imaginal disc of Drosophila larvae, the <br/>R85E08 domain, using a heat shock. The resulting transgene would be combined with other <br/>transgenes in a single fly that would allow for simultaneous expression of the oncogene and, in <br/>the surrounding cells, other genes of interest. This system would help establish Drosophila as a <br/>more versatile and reliable model organism for cancer research. Furthermore, pilot studies were <br/>performed, using elements of the final proposed system, to determine if tumor growth is possible <br/>in the center of the disc, which oncogene produces the best results, and if oncogene expression <br/>induced later in development causes tumor growth. Three different candidate genes were <br/>investigated: RasV12, PvrACT, and Avli.