bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perfil dos óbitos por asfixia perinatal em maternidade pública do sul do Brasil
Authors: Pabis Julia Simões , Guimbala Maria Augusta Baptista , Machado Caroline Louise , Cagliari Patricia Zanotelli , Schulze Milena Luisa , Sbeghen Cristiane Cover , Kropiwiec Maria Volpato , Pabis Francisco Cesar
Published: February 2021

Introdução: A asfixia perinatal é uma causa importante de mortalidade no período neonatal. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo é analisar as características clínico-epidemiológicas dos óbitos ocorridos por asfixia perinatal e comparar com outras causas de óbito no mesmo período. Material e método: Foi realizado um estudo transversal onde foram verificados todos os óbitos ocorridos no período neonatal nos anos de 2009 a 2015 em uma maternidade publica do sul do Brasil. Resultados: Dos 92 casos de óbito 80% eram prematuros e a principal causa de morte foi Insuficiência respiratória (29%). Por asfixia perinatal foram 18 casos (19,5%). Comparando o grupo cuja causa morte foi asfixia com o grupo que morreu por outras causas encontramos diferença no Apgar (p<0,001) e ausência de prematuros extremos (p<0,05). Não houve diferença entre idade no óbito, consultas de pré-natal, idade gestacional, tipo de parto, presença de malformações, uso de oxigênio e peso ao nascer. Conclusão: Portanto observou-se que a morte por asfixia perinatal ocorre na primeira semana de vida, não são prematuros extremos e tem um bom peso ao nascer e quando comparado ao outro grupo o índice de Apgar e ausência de prematuridade extrema mostraram correlação com a morte por asfixia.
Double soft theorem for generalised biadjoint scalar amplitudes
Authors: Abhishek Md , Hegde Subramanya , Jatkar Dileep , Saha Arnab
Published: February 2021

We study double soft theorem for the generalised biadjoint scalar
field theory whose amplitudes are computed in terms of punctures on
\mathbb{CP}^{k-1}ℂℙk−1.
We find that whenever the double soft limit does not decouple into a
product of single soft factors, the leading contributions to the double
soft theorems come from the degenerate solutions, otherwise the
non-degenerate solutions dominate. Our analysis uses the regular
solutions to the scattering equations. Most of the results are presented
for k=3k=3
but we show how they generalise to arbitrary
kk.
We have explicit analytic results, for any
kk,
in the case when soft external states are adjacent.
GATA3 - IS IT A PROGNOSTIC MARKER IN BREAST CARCINOMA?
Authors: Khan Anum
Published: February 2021

GATA binding proteins are among the new prognostic factors being explored. My area of interest is GATA3 to correlate it with tumor size, nodal status ,tumor grade, Estrogen receptor, Progesterone receptor and HER2neu receptors in breast carcinoma patients This was a quantitative correlational study Patient were enrolled using consecutive non probability sampling method. GATA3 was inversely related with tumor size ,nodal status and grade. Estrogen positivity was associated with higher GATA3. However Progesterone and HER2Neu receptors statuses did not show any significant association with GATA3 levels. This study concludes that GATA3 expression can be used as a prognostic marker of breast cancer.
EFFECT OF TAMOXIFEN ON FASTING SERUM LIPID PROFILE IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS
Authors: Khan Anum , Abdus Samad Fauzia , Samad Syed Abdus , Riaz Asif , Arif Sharmin , Zahi Rimsha
Published: February 2021

Background:Tamoxifen acts as a selective estrogen receptor modulator by binding to the estrogenreceptors on mammary epithelium andblockingtheproliferative action of estrogen on mammaryepithelium. In contrast to that it has a weak estrogen agonistic effect on bone, liver and endometrium.Tamoxifen therapy has favorable effects on serum lipid profile by decreasing serum levels of Total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL), while its effect on high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride (TG)is still controversial. So this study is to evaluate the effects of tamoxifenTherapy on fasting serum lipid profile in patients with breast cancer. Results: Mean age was 43.56Ã‚Â±3.53yrs , most common BMI was 30-34.9. Patient serum TG levels were raised from baseline after 3 months of tamoxifen with p values of (0.000) which was statistically significant while HDL levels were raised but with p value of (0.008 ) which was statistically insignificant. Serum LDL and total cholesterol were reduced from baseline after 3 month with p value of (0.000) and (0.000) respectively. Conclusion: This study concludes that tamoxifen has effects on serum lipid profile by increasing TG levels and lowering TC and LDL levels so this should be in consideration while prescribing tamoxifen to the patients having other risk factors for cardiovascular abnormalities.
CHILD PROTECT: INTENSIFYING LEARNERS WELFARE AND STUDENTS CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN BANABA WEST INTEGRATED SCHOOL, BATANGAS CITY, PHILIPPINES
Authors:   Principal,Banaba West Integrated School., M. Virtus Lilibeth , Panaligan Arlene ,   Teacher III, Guidance Teacher, Banaba West Integrated School., Gutierrez Rosemarie ,   Teacher III, Banaba West Integrated School.
Published: February 2021

Introduction/Purpose: Learners behavioral problems are challenging at all academic levels in schools. To improve the learners behavior using learners welfare and protection method in response to child protection policy, this study determined the level of awareness on the causes of students, learners welfare and protection method to be utilized in reducing students conflicts and its results. Method/ Design: Descriptive research design, quantitative in nature is utilized. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify 61 student-participants who experienced conflicts and dealt with the utmost confidentiality and high ethical consideration. Data were collected from the survey questionnaire, anecdotal records as well as interviews, and observations for data validation. Weighted mean was used in data analysis. Results: The study revealed that there is a very high level of awareness of the causes of students conflict in terms of communication and a high level of awareness in terms of personal and social. The methods used in reducing students conflict through the utilization of Learners Welfare and Protection are staff training, negotiation, collaboration, post negotiation. Discussion/ Implications: The strategies used by teachers in school is found to be effective because before the utilization of learners welfare and protection methods, conflicts occurred frequently among students but after the utilization of learners welfare and protection methods, there is a rare case of conflict recorded by the guidance coordinator. These activities may be proposed to further enhance the implementation of learners welfare and protection process in reducing students conflicts in school are staff meeting, strengthening the utilization of school policy, engage the school in organizing suitable social activities and extracurricular programs and projectsfor parents and community and provide feedback and complaints box to create access to the school authority.
PROSPECTS FOR REFORM OF MEDICAL COVERAGE IN MOROCCO
Authors:   PhD Student- FSJE Agdal Rabat., Chiheb Kaoutar , Sbihi Mohamed ,   Higher Education Teacher FSJES Agdal Rabat.
Published: February 2021

For equal access to health care and to allow citizens greater access to the health system, Law 65-00 relating to Basic Health Insurance (BHI) was created in Morocco in 2005. The development of this law marks the starting point for all optimized actions with measurable objectives in the health sector. Even if this law has evolved gradually to try to generalize medical coverage, but it currently remains obsolete, because fifteen years after its implementation, it has not allowed the universalization of medical coverage to all citizens. However, further reform is called for. Government, institutions and society are under increasing pressure to ensure further reform. The constraints of implementing solid governance, financing, equal access to healthcare services are challenges to be taken up in order to reform the regulations relating to medical coverage in Morocco.
RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY OF GRAM PANCHAYATS IN UTTAR DINAJPUR DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL
Authors:   Ph.D. Research Scholar Department of Political Science Raiganj University Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur (WB)., Chandra Sarkar Mithun
Published: February 2021

The paper attempts to analyze the praxis of women empowerment and womens political participation of some Gram Panchayats in Uttar Dinajpur rural areas. In present times, the empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns of the 21st century because of their right to participate in political processes which also impact their family and in turn the society. Many countries are attempting to increase womens political participation and leadership in civil society and now political parties want more women to join in political activities. Women around the world are still largely absent from national and local decision-making procedures. Globally about 20% of women participate in political activities, for women it is very difficult to participate in the civic and political life of their countries due to lack of support and gender discrimination. Strengthening womens rights and addressing obstacles to political participation are critical to achieving gender justice, equality, and women empowerment.
A REVIEW ON ANALGESIC HERBAL
Authors: I. Raut Harsha , N. Lodhi Geeta , P. Kalode Deepika
Published: February 2021

Analgesics are the substances which are used in pain, without losing consciousness. The word analgesic derives from Greek an- (without) and algos (pain). Analgesic drugs act in various form on the central nervous systems and peripheral nervous system. Various sources of analgesic drugs synthetic analgesic and natural analgesic, natural analgesics like opoid analgesics, Aloevera Barbedensis, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Zingiber Officinale, Eugenia caryophyllata, Cinnamomum camphora, Matricaria pubescens etc. This review gives information about different analgesic obtained from natural sources.
DEFENSE STRATEGY AGAINST SELFISH NODES TAKING INTO ACCOUNT TRAFFIC DIFFERENTIATION IN VEHICULAR DELAY-TOLERANT NETWORKS
Authors:   Ecole Doctorale Polytechnique de lINP-HB Yamoussoukro, Cote dIvoire., Yao Theophile Gballou ,   Laboratoire De Recherche En Informatique et Telecommunication (LARIT)., Kidjegbo Augustin Toure ,   Ecole Doctorale Polytechnique de lINP-HB Yamoussoukro, Cote dIvoire., Yves Tiecoura ,   Ecole Doctorale Polytechnique de lINP-HB Yamoussoukro, Cote dIvoire.,   Laboratoire De Recherche En Informatique et Telecommunication (LARIT).
Published: February 2021

Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) are vehicle networks where there is no end-to-end connectivity between source and destination. As a result, VDTNs rely on cooperation between the different nodes to improve its performance. However, the presence of selfish nodes that refuse to participate in the routing protocol causes a deterioration of the overall performance of these networks. In order to reduce the impact of these selfish nodes, proposed strategies, on the one hand, use the nodes transmission rate that does not take into account the message priority class of service, and on the other hand, are based on traditional buffer management systems (FIFO, Random). As a result, quality of service is not guaranteed in this type of network where different applications are derived from messages with different priorities. In this paper, we propose a strategy for detecting selfish nodes and taking action against them in relation to priority classes in order to reduce their impacts. The operation of this strategy is based, on a partitioned memory management system taking into account the priority and the lifetime of messages, on the calculation of the transmission rate of the node with respect to the priority class of the node with the highest delivery predictability, on a mechanism for calculating the nodes degree of selfishness with respect to the priority class, and on the monitoring mechanism. . The simulations carried out show that the proposed model can detect selfish nodes and improve network performance in terms of increasing the delivery rate of high-priority messages, reducing the delivery delay of high-priority messages, and reducing network overload.
ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM HARMFUL INFORMATION TO THEIR HEALTH: NATIONAL AND FOREIGN EXPERIENCE
Authors:   Independent Researcher of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan., Noufarbekovna Dusmukhamedova Nargiza
Published: February 2021

The article centers on the health of children at a time when the process of globalization is in full swing investigation of the international and national lawful system for the legal protection of information security, which is detrimental to ethical and spiritual development, regulation of relations in the field of protection of children from data destructive to their health, sorts of information products prohibited for distribution among children, the examination of the forms of improving the legislation of the CIS countries in the field of protection of children from data harmful to their health is covered.
Methodology for Classifying Diseases in Plants Using Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors:   Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará - UNIFESSPA, Costa Michel , Rezende Vanessa , Martins Cledisson ,   Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará - UNIFESSPA, Santos Adam ,   Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará - UNIFESSPA
Published: February 2021

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are one of the deep learning techniques that, due to the computational advance of the last few years, have leveraged the area of computer vision, allowing substantial gains in the most varied classification problems, especially those involving digital images. In this context, this paper aims to propose a methodology for the classification of multiple pathologies related to different plant species. Initially, this methodology involved the image processing and the generation of ten new databases, varying between 50 and 66 classes with greater representation. After training the models (VGG16, RestNet101v1, ResNet101v2, ResNetXt50, and DenseNet169), a comparative study was conducted based on widely used classification metrics, such as test accuracy, f1-score, and area under the curve. To attest the significance of the results, Friedman’s nonparametric statistical test and two post-hoc procedures were performed, which demonstrated that ResNetXt50 and DenseNet169 obtained superior performances when compared with VGG16 and ResNets.
A Study of the Influence of Data Complexity and Similarity on Soft Biometrics Classification Performance in a Transfer Learning Scenario
Authors:   Federal University of Technology of Paraná - UTFPR, Romero Marcelo , Gutoski Matheus ,   Federal University of Technology of Paraná - UTFPR, Hattori Leandro Takeshi ,   Federal University of Technology of Paraná - UTFPR, Ribeiro Manassés ,   Catarinense Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology, Lopes Heitor Silvério
Published: February 2021

Transfer learning is a paradigm that consists in training and testing classifiers with datasets drawn from distinct distributions. This technique allows to solve a particular problem using a model that was trained for another purpose. In the recent years, this practice has become very popular due to the increase of public available pre-trained models that can be fine-tuned to be applied in different scenarios. However, the relationship between the datasets used for training the model and the test data is usually not addressed, specially where the fine-tuning process is done only for the fully connected layers of a Convolutional Neural Network with pre-trained weights. This work presents a study regarding the relationship between the datasets used in a transfer learning process in terms of the performance achieved by models complexities and similarities. For this purpose, we fine-tune the final layer of Convolutional Neural Networks with pre-trained weights using diverse soft biometrics datasets. An evaluation of the performances of the models, when tested with datasets that are different from the one used for training the model, is presented. Complexity and similarity metrics are also used to perform the evaluation.
Evaluation of the effluent quality parameters of wastewater treatment plant based on uncertainty analysis and post-processing approaches (case study)
Authors: Hejabi Nasim , Saghebian Seyed Mahdi , Aalami Mohammad Taghi , Nourani Vahid
Published: February 2021

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are highly complicated and dynamic systems and so their appropriate operation, control, and accurate simulation are essential. The simulation of WWTPs according to the process complexity has become an important issue in growing environmental awareness. In recent decades, artificial intelligence approaches have been used as effective tools in order to investigate environmental engineering issues. In this study, the effluent quality of Tabriz WWTP was assessed using two intelligence models, namely support Vector Machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN). In this regard, several models were developed based on influent variables and tested via SVM and ANN methods. Three time scales, daily, weekly, and monthly, were investigated in the modeling process. On the other hand, since applied methods were sensitive to input variables, the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis method was used to investigate the best-applied model dependability. It was found that both models had an acceptable degree of uncertainty in modeling the effluent quality of Tabriz WWTP. Next, ensemble approaches were applied to improve the prediction performance of Tabriz WWTP. The obtained results comparison showed that the ensemble methods represented better efficiency than single approaches in predicting the performance of Tabriz WWTP.
Institutions and Culture in Thessaloniki and the Role of Local Government: From Dimitria to Labattoir
Authors: Tsichla Markella-Elpida
Published: February 2021

The cultural activity of the Municipality of Thessaloniki begins in the first post-war years and especially in the 50’s and later, in order to cover the inability of the Greek state to finance cultural activities outside the capital. This weakness is based on the fact that Greece came out devastated by the German occupation, but also by the civil war, which was the painful result of national division. On the other hand, it was considered a symptom of the Cold War. Consequently, the Municipality of Thessaloniki with its meager forces undertook the task of promoting and familiarizing its citizens with forms of contemporary culture and modern art, as the cultural heritage of the ancient Greek world was in the hands of of the central administration. Along the way, the Municipality of Thessaloniki and its departments take up the organization of art exhibitions, mainly of artists who came both from the city and from the Macedonian hinterland. The first concern of the Municipality was the creation of a gallery with works by contemporary artists and then it implemented a cultural activity, which was to become one of the most important cultural institutions in the country: Dimitria Festival, in the honor of the patron saint of Agios Dimitrios. During the Political Changeover, the Municipality of Thessaloniki increased its activities in the field of Culture as the economic situation of Greece significantly improved being a permanent member of the European Union since 1981. Thus, sponsorships were made by its citizens for the creation of new cultural infrastructure (Vafopouleio Cultural Center, History Center); the architectural wealth of the once prosperous Jewish community was used for cultural purposes, and also the Ottoman buildings, which are scattered throughout the city, were preserved.
Kamu Politikası Analizi Bağlamında Türkiye’nin Gençlik Politikası
Authors: Yaman Ahmet
Published: February 2021

Genç ya da gençlik gibi kavramlar çoğunlukla çocukluktan yetişkinliğe bir geçiş dönemi olarak ifade edilmektedir. Ayrıca gençler, toplumsal yapının bir unsuru olarak tanımlanmakta ve bütün ülkeler için toplumsal değişimin, ekonomik kalkınmanın, teknolojik yenilikçiliğin gerçekleştirilmesinde en önemli insan kaynağı olarak kabul edilmektedir. Literatürde gençlik çalışmaları genellikle sosyal politika ile kamu politikası uygulamaları bağlamında incelenebilmektedir. Bu çalışmada ise Türkiye’nin gençlik politikası ve uygulama araçları kamu politikası analizi çerçevesinde incelenmiştir. Bu inceleme dönemsel olarak 2000 yılı ve sonrasını kapsamaktadır. Araştırmanın konusunu Türkiye’de gençliğin tanımı ve gençlik kavramı üzerine yürütülen tartışmalar, gençliğe yönelik uygulanan politika ve uygulama araçlarının niteliği ve içeriği, politika uygulama araçlarını belirleyen, etkileyen kurum ve kuruluşların analiz edilmesi oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmanın konusu, kamu politikası yapım sürecinin sorunun tanımlanması ve gündeme gelmesi, bir soruna yönelik politikaların formüle edilmesi ve uygulanması ile politikaların değerlendirilmesi başlıkları altında ele alınmıştır. Çalışmada incelenen politika metinlerinde ve alan yazınında gençlik kavramının sorun odaklı ve sektörel başlıklar altında incelendiği ileri sürülmüştür. Türkiye’de gençlere yönelik kurumsal ve mevzuat düzenlemelerine son 10 yılda ağırlık verilmiştir. Ayrıca gençlerin eğitim, sağlık, işsizlik, yoksulluk, çevre ve sağlık, şiddet, suç ve madde bağımlılığı gibi pek çok sosyal, ekonomik, politik ve kültürel başlıklarda sorunları ve taleplerinin olduğu ifade edilmiştir. Sorun ve taleplere yönelik sunulan kamu hizmetleri göz önüne alındığında gençlik politikasının birçok alanı yatay kesen bir konu olduğu ileri sürülmüştür. Gençlere yönelik uygulanan politika araçları ise altyapı hizmetleri sunma, politika metinleri oluşturma, finansal destek sağlama, sağlık hizmetleri sunma, spor faaliyet alanlarını geliştirme olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Sorun ve sektör odaklı yaklaşım yerine değişen teknoloji ve teknolojiye bağlı gelişen ekonomik, politik ve kültürel ilişkiler göz önüne alınarak gençlerin demokratik süreçlere katılımını, dezavantajlı/ görünmeyen gençler başta olmak üzere gençlere hak temelli imkanların sunulmasını, ayrımcılığın azaltılmasını, kültürlerarası diyaloğun geliştirilmesini, sürdürülebilir bir çevrede, kalkınmanın ve yaşamın desteklenmesini sağlayacak kamu politikası ve uygulama araçlarının çok boyutlu ve çok aktörlü katılım ile hayata geçirilmesi önerilmektedir
Phosphoserine Aminotransferase has Conserved Active Site from Microbes to Higher Eukaryotes with Minor Deviations
Authors: Singh Rohit Kumar , Kumar Devbrat , Gourinath Samudrala
Published: February 2021

:

Serine is ubiquitously synthesized in all living organisms from the glycolysis intermediate
3-phosphoglycerate (PGA) by phosphoserine biosynthetic pathway, consisting of three different
enzymes, namely: 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH), phosphoserine aminotransferase
(PSAT), and phosphoserine phosphatase (PSP). Any functional defect or mutation in these
enzymes may cause deliberating conditions, such as colon cancer progression and chemoresistance
in humans. Phosphoserine aminotransferase (PSAT) is the second enzyme in this pathway that converts
phosphohydroxypyruvate (PHP) to O-phospho-L-serine (OPLS).

:

Humans encode two isoforms of this enzyme: PSAT1 and PSAT2. PSAT1 exists as a functional
dimer, where each protomer has a large and a small domain; each large domain contains a Lys residue
that covalently binds PLP. The PLP-binding site of human PSAT1 and most of its active site
residues are highly conserved in all known PSAT structures except for Cys-80. Interestingly, Two
PSAT structures from different organisms show halide binding near their active site. While the human
PSAT1 shows a water molecule at this site with different interacting residues, suggesting the
inability of halide binding in the human enzyme. Analysis of the human PSAT1 structure showed a
big patch of positive charge around the active site, in contrast to the bacterial PSATs. Compared to
human PSAT1, the PSAT2 isoform lacks 46 residues at its C-terminal tail. This tail region is present
at the opening of the active site as observed in the other PSAT structures. Further structural
work on human PSAT2 may reveal the functional importance of these 46 residues.
Design and Synthesis of Novel Aminoalkanamides Targeting Neurodegeneration and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Jankowska Agnieszka , Satała Grzegorz , Latacz Gniewomir , Partyka Anna , Lubelska Annamaria , Pociecha Krzysztof , Świerczek Artur , Wilczyńska Natalia , Mordyl Barbara , Bojarski Andrzej J. , Wyska Elżbieta , Chłoń-Rzepa Grażyna
Published: February 2021

Background:

There is currently no drug that slows the process of neurodegeneration
or alleviates the cognitive and depressive symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s
disease. Due to the increasing number of Alzheimer’s patients, there is an urgent need to
develop novel drugs with neuroprotective, procognitive, and antidepressant properties.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to design, synthesize, and evaluate novel aminoalkanamides
with serotonin 5-HT1A/5-HT7 receptor affinity and phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitory
activity as a new approach to combat neurodegeneration and symptoms of
Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods:

The newly designed compounds were synthesized using classical methods of
organic chemistry and tested in vitro for their receptor affinity, functional profile, enzyme
inhibition, and ADME properties. The neuroprotective effect against H2O2-induced
increase of reactive oxygen species level was tested in SH-SY5Y cells. The novel object
recognition and forced swimming tests were used to evaluate the procognitive and antidepressant
activity, respectively.

Results:

Synthesized aminoalkanamides were characterized as potent 5-HT1Areceptor antagonists
with additional 5-HT7 receptor antagonistic properties and PDE4B inhibitory activity.
Selected compound 15 showed neuroprotective, procognitive, and antidepressant
properties. In addition, compound 15 revealed suitable ADME properties expressed as
good membrane permeability and high metabolic stability.

Conclusion:

This study revealed a new class of compounds that may be useful in the
search for an effective drug in the alleviation of neurodegeneration and symptoms of
Alzheimer’s disease.
From Nucleic Acids to Drug Discovery: Nucleobases as Emerging Templates for Drug Candidates
Authors: Wong Xi Khai , Yeong Keng Yoon
Published: February 2021

Nucleobases represent key structural motifs in biologically active molecules,
including synthetic and natural products. Molecular modifications made on nucleobases
or their isolation from natural sources are being widely investigated for the development
of drugs with improved potency for the treatment of different diseases, such as cancer, as
well as viral and bacterial infections. This review article focuses on the nucleobase analogue
drug developments of the past 20 years (2000-2020). Various pharmacological and
medicinal aspects of nucleobases and their analogues are discussed. The current state and
limitations are also highlighted.
Trefoil Factor Family (TFF) Peptides and their Different Roles in the Mucosal Innate Immune Defense and More: An Update
Authors: Hoffmann Werner
Published: February 2021

Mucous epithelia are protected by complex mucus barrier layers, which are
part of the innate immune defense. Trefoil factor family peptides TFF1, TFF2, and TFF3
have lectin activities and are predominantly co-secreted together with mucins from these
epithelia. TFF1 and TFF2 are mainly expressed in the gastric mucosa, whereas TFF3 is
widely secreted from most mucous epithelia and their glands. TFF1 and TFF3 consist of
a single TFF domain and an additional free 7th cysteine residue, whereas TFF2 contains
two TFF domains. Systematic analyses of the molecular forms of TFFs gave new insights
into their diverse molecular functions. TFF1 mainly exists as a monomer with an
unusual free thiol group and only minor amounts form a disulfide-linked homodimer as
well as heterodimers with gastrokine-2 and IgG-Fc-binding protein (FCGBP). TFF3
mainly forms a heterodimer with FCGBP in vivo, but also binds Deleted in Malignant
Brain Tumors/gp340 (DMBT1gp340) in vitro. In contrast, TFF2 binds as a lectin to a
conserved O-linked carbohydrate moiety of the mucin MUC6. Both FCGBP and
DMBT1gp340 are secreted by most mucous epithelia and their glands and are involved
in mucosal innate immunity. Thus, a new picture emerged pointing to functions
of TFF3-FCGBP (and TFF1-FCGBP) for mucosal innate immune defense, e.g. supporting
the clearing of the microorganisms. Such a function could be well be supported by
DMBT1gp340. In contrast, the TFF2/MUC6 lectin complex probably physically stabilizes
the inner adherent gastric mucus layer. Furthermore, there are indications that TFF3-
FCGBP might also play a role in the blood vessels.
Anti-mycobacterial Activity of 22 Iranian Endemic or Rare Plant Extracts
Against Multi-drug and Extensively Drug-resistant Mycobacterium
tuberculosis
Authors: Sahebkar Amirhossein , Soleimanpour Saman , Dehestani Sina , Davoodi Javid , Emami Seyed Ahmad , Seddighinia Fereshteh Sadat
Published: February 2021

Background:

Due to side-effects and lost efficacy of common drugs on new resistance strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), investigation on novel drugs and natural compounds from rich source of endemic plants is required. Thus, in the present study, the anti-mycobacterial effect of 22 Iranian endemic or rare plant extracts on multi-drug resistance (MDR) and extensively-drug resistance (XDR) Mtb isolates was evaluated.

Methods:

22 Iranian endemic and rare plant species from 9 families were collected and extracted by methanol. Their inhibitory-effects were then evaluated against Mtb H37Rv strain, seven clinical MDR-TB and two XDR-TB isolates using resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) method. Best of them were then fractionalized by five different polar solvents (Petroleum-Ether, Dichloromethane, Ethyl-Acetate, n-butanol and water). To find anti-mycobacterial fractions, inhibitory effect of isolated fractions were tested on Mtb H37Rv.

Results:

Out of the 22 plants, 14 plant extracts demonstrated anti-mycobacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 4 to 30µg/mL against Mtb H37Rv. Eight plant extracts also exhibited anti-mycobacterial activity against MDR and XDR clinical strains of Mtb by MICs, 15-60μg/ml. Crinitaria grimmii and Linum album were the best anti-mycobacterial plants. Among fractions of Crinitaria grimmii, dichloromethane and n-butanol and for Linum album, dichloromethane and Ethyl-Acetate fractions displayed more anti-mycobacterial effect comparing to crude extract on Mtb.

Conclusion:

The present study confirms the potential role of some plants to treat respiratory diseases as our results have demonstrated that these plants exhibit anti-mycobacterial activity in the acceptable range against Mtb. Thus, these plants could be good sources and alternatives of plant metabolites for anti-TB-drug development.
Predicting Drug-Target Affinity Based on Recurrent Neural Networks
and Graph Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Tian Qingyu , Ding Mao , Yang Hui , Yue Caibin , Zhong Yue , Du Zhenzhen , Liu Dayan , Liu Jiali , Deng Yufeng
Published: February 2021

Background:

Drug development requires a lot of money and time, and the outcome of the challenge is unknown. So, there is an urgent need for researchers to find a new approach that can reduce costs. Therefore, the identification of drug-target interactions (DTIs) has been a critical step in the early stages of drug discovery. These computational methods aim to narrow the search space for novel DTIs and to elucidate the functional background of drugs. Most of the methods developed so far use binary classification to predict the presence or absence of interactions between the drug and the target. However, it is more informative, but also more challenging, to predict the strength of the binding between a drug and its target. If the strength is not strong enough, such a DTI may not be useful. Hence, the development of methods to predict drug-target affinity (DTA) is of significant importance.

Method:

We have improved the Graph DTA model from a dual-channel model to a triple-channel model. We interpreted the target/protein sequences as time series and extracted their features using the LSTM network. For the drug, we considered both the molecular structure and the local chemical background, retaining the four variant networks used in Graph DTA to extract the topological features of the drug and capturing the local chemical background of the atoms in the drug by using BiGRU. Thus, we obtained the latent features of the target and two latent features of the drug. The connection of these three feature vectors is then input into a 2-layer FC network, and a valuable binding affinity is output.

Result:

We use the Davis and Kiba datasets, using 80% of the data for training and 20% of the data for validation. Our model shows better performance by comparing it with the experimental results of Graph DTA.

Conclusion:

In this paper, we altered the Graph DTA model to predict drug-target affinity. It represents the drug as a graph, and extracts the two-dimensional drug information using a graph convolutional neural network. Simultaneously, the drug and protein targets are represented as a word vector, and the convolutional neural network is used to extract the time series information of the drug and the target. We demonstrate that our improved method has better performance than the original method. In particular, our model has better performance in the evaluation of benchmark databases.
Post Translational Modification and Its Pathologic Association in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Brief Perspective
Authors: Vasudevan Vishnupreetha , Agnihotri Prachi , Biswas Sagarika
Published: February 2021

Post Translational Modification (PTM) is a process in which covalent addition of functional
groups on protein occurs to maintain their structure, function and stability. Every PTM process
in our living system occurs to enhance the functional diversity of a protein. But sometimes, it occurs
without any regulation and that might lead to autoimmunity. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one such
chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease that affects the joints. Proper treatment can make the
symptoms manageable for RA, but it is not curable. Delayed diagnosis of RA can cause severe bone
pain, stiffness, inflammation, redness in joints and affect other parts of the body such as the liver,
kidney, etc. Early diagnosis of RA is necessary to manage the aggressive symptoms. Currently,
Rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide (Anti-CCP) are considered as biomarkers
to diagnose RA. Besides citrullination, several other PTMs are also involved in the generation of
autoantibodies, such as carbamylation, glycosylation, glycation, acetylation, ubiquitination, proteolysis,
phosphorylation, and lipidation. The aim of this review is to elucidate several changes in the
form, nature, and function of PTMs in RA. This review will give a recent overview on the role of
PTMs in the pathogenesis of RA with a focus on the post-translational modifications.
New Framework for the Discovery of PRC2 Inhibitors: Epigenetic Drugs
Authors: Danishuddin  , Subbarao Naidu , Khan Mohd , Alouffi Sultan , Khan Shahper
Published: February 2021

Over the past several years, remarkable progress towards the recognition of new therapeutic
targets in tumor cells has led to the discovery and development of newer scaffolds of anti-tumor
drugs. The exploration and exploitation of epigenetic regulation in tumor cells are of immense
importance to both the pharmaceutical and academic biomedical literatures. Epigenetic mechanisms
are indispensable for the normal development and maintenance of tissue-specific gene expression.
Disruption of epigenetic processes to eradicate tumor cells is among the most promising
intervention for cancer control. Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a complex that methylates
lysine 27 of histone H3 to promote transcriptional silencing, is involved in orchestrating significant
pathways in a cell. Overexpression of PRC2 has been found in a number of cancerous malignancies,
making it a major target for anti-cancer therapy. Despite its well-understood molecular mechanism,
hyperactivation and drug resistance mutations in its subunits have become a matter of discussion.
This review outlines the current understanding of the components of PRC2 in active complex
formation and assesses their potential as a promising therapeutic target for cancer therapy. We
also review the effects of mutations in the PRC2 components, in the purview of human cancers. Finally,
we discuss some of the current challenges for therapeutic drug designs targeting the PRC2
complex.
Putative Roles of Astrocytes in General Anesthesia
Authors: Mulkey Daniel K. , Olsen Michelle L. , Ou Mengchan , Cleary Colin M. , Du Guizhi
Published: February 2021

:

General anesthetics are a mainstay of modern medicine, and although much progress has been made towards identifying molecular targets of anesthetics and neural networks contributing to endpoints of general anesthesia, our understanding of how anesthetics work remains unclear. Reducing this knowledge gap is of fundamental importance to prevent unwanted and life-threatening side-effects associated with general anesthesia. General anesthetics are chemically diverse, yet they all have similar behavioral endpoints, and so for decades research has sought to identify a single underlying mechanism to explain how anesthetics work. However, this effort has given way to the ‘multiple target hypothesis’ as it has become clear that anesthetics target many cellular proteins including GABAA receptors, glutamate receptors, voltage-independent K+ channels and voltage-dependent K+, Ca2+ and Na+ channels, to name a few. Yet, despite evidence that astrocytes are capable of modulating multiple aspects of neural function and express many anesthetic target proteins, they have been largely ignored as potential targets of anesthesia. The purpose of this brief review is to highlight effects of anesthetic on astrocyte processes and identify potential roles of astrocytes in behavioral endpoints of anesthesia (hypnosis, amnesia, analgesia and immobilization).
Glutamate NMDA Receptor Antagonists with Relevance to Schizophrenia:
A Review of Zebrafish Behavioral Studies
Authors: Piato Angelo , Benvenutti Radharani , Gallas-Lopes Matheus , Marcon Matheus , Reschke Cristina R. , Herrmann Ana Paula
Published: February 2021

:

Schizophrenia pathophysiology is associated with hypofunction of glutamate NMDA
receptors (NMDAR) in GABAergic interneurons and dopaminergic hyperactivation in subcortical
brain areas. The administration of NMDAR antagonists is used as an animal model that replicates
behavioral phenotypes relevant to the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Such models overwhelmingly rely on rodents, which may lead to species-specific biases and poor
translatability. Zebrafish, however, is increasingly used as a model organism to study evolutionarily
conserved aspects of behavior. We thus aimed to review and integrate the major findings reported in
the zebrafish literature regarding the behavioral effects of NMDAR antagonists with relevance to
schizophrenia. We identified 44 research articles that met our inclusion criteria from 590 studies
retrieved from MEDLINE (PubMed) and Web of Science databases. Dizocilpine (MK-801) and
ketamine were employed in 29 and 10 studies, respectively. The use of other NMDAR antagonists,
such as phencyclidine (PCP), APV, memantine, and tiletamine, was described in 6 studies. Frequently
reported findings are the social interaction and memory deficits induced by MK-801 and
circling behavior induced by ketamine. However, mixed results were described for several locomotor
and exploratory parameters in the novel tank and open tank tests. The present review integrates
the most relevant results while discussing variation in experimental design and methodological
procedures. We conclude that zebrafish is a suitable model organism to study drug-induced behavioral
phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia. However, more studies are necessary to further characterize
the major differences in behavior as compared to mammals.
Gut Microbiota Regulate Astrocytic Functions in the Brain: Possible Therapeutic Consequences
Authors: Zhao Ya-Fei , Wei Da-Neng , Tang Yong
Published: February 2021

Astrocytes are essential for maintaining the homeostasis of the central nervous system
(CNS). Astrocytic dysfunction has been implicated in the progression of several neurodegenerative
and psychiatric diseases; however, a multitude of factors and signals influencing astrocytic activity
have not been entirely elucidated. Astrocytes respond to local signals from the brain, but are also
indirectly modulated by gut microbiota. Previous studies revealed that most of the CNS diseases
triggered by astrocytic dysfunction are closely associated with the dysbiosis of gut microbiome.
Emerging data from preclinical and clinical studies suggest that the maturation and functioning of
astrocytes rely on gut microbiota, which plays a pivotal role in the decrease of astrocytic activation
and may alleviate symptoms of brain diseases. Herein, we discuss the most recent advances concerning
the complex connections between astrocytes and gut microbiota, which are involved in the
immune, neurotransmission and neuroendocrine pathways. Deciphering these pathways will facilitate
a better understanding of how perturbed gut microbiota contributes to the dysfunction of astrocytes
and open therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of brain diseases.
Sceletium for Managing Anxiety, Depression and Cognitive Impairment: A Traditional Herbal Medicine in Modern-Day Regulatory Systems
Authors: Brendler Thomas , Brinckmann Josef A. , Feiter Ulrich , Gericke Nigel , Lang Lucy , Pozharitskaya Olga N. , Shikov Alexander N. , Smith Michael , Wyk Ben-Erik Van
Published: February 2021

Modern-day regulatory systems governing conditions for how health products enter national
markets constitute a barrier of access for traditional herbal medicines on an international
level. Regulatory intentions are focused on ensuring that consumers are being provided with safe,
efficacious and high-quality products that, however, collaterally limit opportunities for traditional
herbal medicinal products, especially those that do not already have a long-standing tradition of use
established in the respective national marketplaces. This case study investigates and compares how
a Southern African herbal medicine with great potential as an anxiolytic and mild antidepressant -
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum L. [syn. Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N.E.Br.] aerial parts - fares internationally
in today’s regulatory environments. It is argued that inadvertent regulatory favoritism
combined with the lack of means for adequate protection of intellectual property may obstruct innovation
by creating an almost insurmountable economical hurdle for successful product development
and introduction of botanicals from developing countries into most of the world’s health product
markets.
MicroRNAs and Diabetes Mellitus Type 1
Authors: Rezaei Nima , Bahreini Farbod , Rayzan Elham
Published: February 2021

:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial, progressive, autoimmune disease with a strong genetic feature that can affect multiple organs, including kidney, eyes, and nerves. Early detection of type 1 diabetes can help critically to avoid serious damages to these organs. MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules that act in post-transcriptional gene regulation by attaching to the complementary sequence in the 3'-untranslated region of their target genes. Alterations in the expression of microRNA coding genes are extensively reported in several diseases such as type 1 diabetes. Presenting non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of type 1 diabetes by quantifying microRNAs gene expression level can be an influential step in biotechnology and medicine. This review discusses the area of microRNAs dysregulation in type 1 diabetes and affected molecular mechanisms involved in pancreatic islet cells formation and dysregulation in the expression of inflammatory elements as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Involvement of YAP/TAZ Signaling Pathway in Anti-obesity Activity of Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract
Authors: Nurhayati Titing , Anton  , Setiawan Iwan , Tarawan Vita Murniati , Lesmana Ronny
Published: February 2021

Introduction:

Obesity has become a pandemic chronic disease. The main principle of obesity
treatment is to regulate energy balance by reducing energy intake and increasing energy expenditure.
These target mechanisms have become the point of attention in herbal medicine studies. Several molecular
mechanisms of actions possessed by Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MLE) have been studied in
many experimental research works.

Objective:

In this mini-review, we encompass the mechanisms of MLE in demonstrating the antiobesity
activity, including the potential involvement of YAP/TAZ activity.

Methods:

Several major electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus, were
used in selecting articles from the period between August 2011 and August 2020.

Results:

From 18 established pieces of literature, we demonstrated the anti-obesity activity of MLE in
detail. Several citations accompanied the results of these researched-based studies to explain and illustrate
the molecular mechanisms, including YAP/TAZ signaling pathway.

Conclusion:

MLE, through its phytochemistry contents, shows significant benefits in herbal medicine,
especially the anti-obesity activity. MLE potentially contributes to modify the lipid metabolism in
YAP/TAZ pathway. However, the study demonstrating this involvement has still not published. In the
future, more exploration may provide hope for its efficacy and safety as the therapeutic agent of obesity.
Risk Factors Identification and Prediction of Anemia among Women in Bangladesh using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Islam Md. Merajul , Rahman Md. Jahanur , Roy Dulal Chandra , Islam Md. Moidul , Tawabunnahar Most. , Ahmed N.A.M. Faisal , Maniruzzaman Md.
Published: February 2021

Background:

Anemia is a major public health problem with raising prevalence worldwide, including Bangladesh.

Objectives:

To identify the risk factors of anemia among women in Bangladesh and its prediction using Machine Learning (ML) based techniques.

Methods:

The anemia dataset, comprising of 3,020 respondents, was extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). Two feature selection techniques as Logistic Regression (LR) and Random Forest (RF), have been utilized to determine the risk factors of anemia. Additionally, eight ML-based techniques, namely LR, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-Nearest Neighborhood (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), Neural Network (NN), Classification And Regression Tree (CART), and RF have also been utilized to predict anemia disease among women in Bangladesh. Classification accuracy and Area Under the Curve (AUC) are used to evaluate the performances of these classifiers.

Results:

LR and RF-based feature selection results indicate that out of 15 factors, 13 for LR and 14 factors for RF appear to be significant risk factors for anemia among women. All predictive models provide the highest classification accuracy and AUC of 74.10-81.29% and 0.744-0.819 under RF features. However, the combination of RF-based feature selection along with RF-based classifier gives the highest classification accuracy (81.29%) and AUC (0.819).

Conclusion:

Out of the eight predictive models, RF-RF based combination model shows the best performance for the prediction of anemia. This study suggests policymakers to make appropriate decisions to control the anemia using RF-RF combination to save time and reduce the cost for Bangladeshi women.