Education and Entertainment: Developing New Pathways to Student Engagement through Library Services and Student Life Partnerships

“How do you measure?” is from which Broadway musical? This type of question might be asked in the virtual trivia nights hosted by Pittsburg State University’s Library Services and Student Life areas. 2020-2021 was a season of collaboration between PSU Student Life professionals and a PSU Librarian. This presentation will cover the misconceptions about Student Life and Library, how to overcome those misconceptions, and maximize partnerships through the lens of 2020-2021 virtual trivia nights. At the end of this session, attendees will leave with the tools on how to approach Student Life professionals at their campus for partnership and series programming and how to maximize everyone’s strengths in a partnership

Physical Chemistry

This is a provisional syllabus for Physical Chemistry I (Thermodynamics), to be taught using an OER Textmap in Fall, 2021

Association of vasoactive intestinal peptide with polymer-grafted liposomes: Structural aspects for pulmonary delivery

AbstractA polymer-grafted liposomal formulation that has the potential to be developed for aerosolic pulmonary delivery of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a potent vasodilatory neuropeptide, is described. As VIP is prone to rapid proteolytic degradation in the microenvironment of the lung a proper delivery system is required to increase the half-life and bioavailability of the peptide. Here we investigate structural parameters of unilamellar liposomes composed of palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine, lyso-stearyl-phosphatidylglycerol and distearyl-phosphatidyl-ethanolamine covalently linked to polyethylene glycol 2000, and report on VIP–lipid interaction mechanisms. We found that the cationic VIP is efficiently entrapped by the negatively charged spherical liposomes and becomes converted to an amphipathic α-helix. By fluorescence spectroscopy using single Trp-modified VIP we could show that VIP is closely associated to the membrane. Our data suggest that the N-terminal random-coiled domain is embedded in the interfacial headgroup region of the phospholipid bilayer. By doing so, neither the bilayer thickness of the lipid membrane nor the mobility of the phospholipid acyl chains are affected as shown by small angle X-ray scattering and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Finally, in an ex vivo lung arterial model system we found that liposomal-associated VIP is recognized by its receptors to induce vasodilatory effects with comparable high relaxation efficiency as free VIP but with a significantly retarded dilatation kinetics. In conclusion, we have designed and characterized a liposomal formulation that is qualified to entrap biologically active VIP and displays structural features to be considered for delivery of VIP to the lung

Assessing the size, stability, and utility of isotropically tumbling bicelle systems for structural biology

AbstractAqueous phospholipid mixtures that form bilayered micelles (bicelles) have gained wide use by molecular biophysicists during the past 20 years for spectroscopic studies of membrane-bound peptides and structural refinement of soluble protein structures. Nonetheless, the utility of bicelle systems may be compromised by considerations of cost, chemical stability, and preservation of the bicelle aggregate organization under a broad range of temperature, concentration, pH, and ionic strength conditions. In the current work, 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been used to monitor the size and morphology of isotropically tumbling small bicelles formed by mixtures of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) or 1,2-di-O-tetradecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DIOMPC) with either 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) or 1,2-di-O-hexyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DIOHPC), testing their tolerance of variations in commonly used experimental conditions. 1H-15N 2D NMR has been used to demonstrate the usefulness of the robust DMPC–DIOHPC system for conformational studies of a fatty acid-binding protein that shuttles small ligands to and from biological membranes

Protocols and pitfalls in obtaining fatty acid-binding proteins for biophysical studies of ligand-protein and protein-protein interactions

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP: FABP4) is a member of the intracellular lipid-binding protein family that is thought to target long-chain fatty acids to nuclear receptors such as peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor gamma (PPARγ), which in turn plays roles in insulin resistance and obesity. A molecular understanding of AFABP function requires robust isolation of the protein in liganded and free forms as well as characterization of its oligomerization state(s) under physiological conditions. We report development of a protocol to optimize the production of members of this protein family in pure form, including removal of their bound lipids by mixing with hydrophobically functionalized hydroxypropyl dextran beads and validation by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The formation of self-associated or covalently bonded protein dimers was evaluated critically using gel filtration chromatography, revealing conditions that promote or prevent formation of disulfide-linked homodimers. The resulting scheme provides a solid foundation for future investigations of AFABP interactions with key ligand and protein partners involved in lipid metabolism

Gekommen, um zu bleiben? Bei autochthonen West-Nil-Virus-Infektionen steht regional die Saison 2022 vor der Tür

Im Jahr 2020 wurden in Deutschland 20 autochthone symptomatische und zwei asymptomatische Infektionen mit dem West-Nil-Virus (WNV) bei Menschen festgestellt und gemäß Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG) gemeldet; ein älterer Patient verstarb. 2021 sank die Fallzahl auf vier gemäß IfSG gemeldete autochthone Fälle und einen nach Transfusionsgesetz gemeldeten Fall, möglicherweise assoziiert mit einem relativ kühlen Sommer. Da WNV in Deutschland in Stechmücken überwin¬tern kann, ist davon auszugehen, dass es auch 2022 zur Zirkulation des Virus zwischen Stechmü-cken und Vögeln und vor allem in dem in Vorjah¬ren betroffenen Gebiet vereinzelt auch zu mücken-übertragenen Infektionen bei Menschen und Pferden kommt. Eine Änderung bzw. Ausweitung des betroffenen Gebietes von Jahr zu Jahr ist möglich, insbesondere auch in wärmeren Sommern.Peer Reviewe

Fungal Melanin: What do We Know About Structure?

The production of melanin significantly enhances the virulence of many important human pathogenic fungi. Despite fungal melanin’s importance in human disease, as well as melanin’s contribution to the ability of fungi to survive in diverse hostile environments, the structure of melanin remains unsolved. Nevertheless, ongoing research efforts have progressively revealed several notable structural characteristics of this enigmatic pigment, which will be the focus of this review. These compositional and organizational insights could further our ability to develop novel therapeutic approaches to combat fungal disease and enhance our understanding of how melanin is inserted into the cell wall

Cryptococcus neoformans melanization incorporates multiple catecholamines to produce polytypic melanin

Melanin is a major virulence factor in pathogenic fungi that enhances the ability of fungal cells to resist immune clearance. Cryptococcus neoformans is an important human pathogenic fungus that synthesizes melanin from exogenous tissue catecholamine precursors during infection, but the type of melanin made in cryptococcal meningoencephalitis is unknown. We analyzed the efficacy of various catecholamines found in brain tissue in supporting melanization using animal brain tissue and synthetic catecholamine mixtures reflecting brain tissue proportions. Solid-state NMR spectra of the melanin pigment produced from such mixtures yielded more melanin than expected if only the preferred constituent dopamine had been incorporated, suggesting uptake of additional catecholamines. Probing the biosynthesis of melanin using radiolabeled catecholamines revealed that C. neoformans melanization simultaneously incorporated more than one catecholamine, implying that the pigment was polytypic in nature. Nonetheless, melanin derived from individual or mixed catecholamines had comparable ability to protect C. neoformans against ultraviolet light and oxidants. Our results indicate that melanin produced during infection differs depending on the catecholamine composition of tissue and that melanin pigment synthesized in vivo is likely to accrue from the polymerization of a mixture of precursors. From a practical standpoint, our results strongly suggest that using dopamine as a polymerization precursor is capable of producing melanin pigment comparable to that produced during infection. On a more fundamental level, our findings uncover additional structural complexity for natural cryptococcal melanin by demonstrating that pigment produced during human infection is likely to be composed of polymerized moieties derived from chemically different precursors