Information about nutrient availability is assessed via largely unknown mechanisms to drive developmental decisions, including the choice of Caenorhabditis elegans larvae to enter into the reproductive cycle or the dauer stage. In this study, we show that CMK-1 CaMKI regulates the dauer decision as a function of feeding state. CMK-1 acts cell-autonomously in the ASI, and non cell-autonomously i...

Mutants of Salmonella typhimurium defective in cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP) kinase (cmk) have been isolated. The mutants also lack the ability to phosphorylate 2'-deoxyCMP, indicating that one enzyme is responsible for the phosphorylation of both CMP and deoxyCMP to the corresponding diphosphates. In glucose minimal medium the mutants grow at the same rate as the parental strain; however, th...

The cultivation temperature (T(c)) modulates the thermosensory responses exhibited by C. elegans on thermal gradients. The AFD sensory neurons are essential for thermosensory behaviors, but the molecular mechanisms by which temperature is sensed and the memory of the T(c) is encoded are unknown. Here, we show that the CMK-1 Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I (CaMKI) and the TAX-4 cyclic...

Combined experimental and computational studies show that, upon reducing the diameter of Pt nanoparticles down to 1 nm, a collapse in the crystalline structure occurs spontaneously and the thus-induced quantum size effect causes a decline in the catalytic activity toward H2 electrooxidation. Platinum has been playing a vital role in heterogeneous catalysis, especially for low-temperature fuel c...

The chymotrypsin-like serine protease inhibitor, succinyl-alanine-alanine-proline-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (AAPF(CMK)), has been shown to have anticarcinogenic activity in a number of model systems and to be relatively selective for a nuclear protease. This inhibitor also has substantial effects on growth of tumorigenic human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected keratinocytes in organotypic r...

The aim of this study was to determine which endothelial factors were involved in the decrease of pulmonary vascular resistance at birth, and how they changed with maturation. Response of intrapulmonary artery rings precontracted with prostaglandin F2alpha were studied from piglets aged <2 h, 2-3 day, 10 day and adult pigs for pharmacological responses to acetylcholine (ACh) and cromakalim (CMK...

The research presented in this dissertation is aimed at the development of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) based on ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs). The ORR is a key reaction in electrochemical energy devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Because of its sluggish kinetics compared to its counterpart reaction (i.e., hydrogen oxidation reaction in fuel cell...

Performance of low temperature fuel cells depends critically on the nanostructures of the material components in the electrodes and membranes. Some studies are reported here for 1) mixed metal nanoparticles supported on mesoporous carbon and 2) modification of nanopores of Nafion via in-situ polymerization of furfuryl alcohol. The anodic oxidation of small organic molecules such as alcohols in ...