bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Autophagy-Mediated Clearance of Free Genomic DNA in the Cytoplasm Promoted the Growth and Survival of Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Yao Mengfei , Wu Yaqian , Cao Yanan , Liu Haijing , Ma Ningning , Chai Yijie , Zhang Shuang , Zhang Hong , Nong Lin , Liang Li , Zhang Bo
Published: February 2021

Background: The cGAS (GMP-AMP synthase)-triggered senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in promotion of cancer progression has been extensively documented. However, the role of cGAS-mediated DNA autophagy is little evaluated in breast cancer cells.Methods: Immunofluorescence, senescence associated-β-galactosidase staining (SA-β-gal) and Western blot were performed to detect gene expression, distribution and phenotypes. PCR, IP-PCR, FISH, BrdU, Comet assay, coimmunoprecipitation, sucrose density gradient centrifugation were carried out to detect possible mechanisms. Trypan blue exclusion, Live/dead staining and MTS assay were to measure the cell viability. All analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 8. Relationships were analyzed using t-tests. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. All statistical tests and P values were 2-sided, and the level of significance was set at <0.05 (*), <0.01 (**), <0.001 (***), or<0.0001 (****); ns indicates no significance.Results: Active DNA autophagy but not SASP activity could be detected in breast cancer cells with high micronucleus (MN). The selective autophagy of free genomic DNA in the cytoplasm is mediated by cGAS and usually coordinated with SQSTM1-mediated autophagy of ubiquitinated histones in breast cancer cell lines with high frequency of MN formation. Cytoplasmic DNA together with nuclear proteins derive from DNA replication-induced nuclear damage and MN collapse in breast cell lines which with severe DNA damage. The inhibition of DNA autophagy through either chemical inhibitors or genomic silencing of cGAS or SQSTM1 suppresses the growth and survival of breast cancer cells, while enhanced DNA damage increases the sensitivity to these inhibitors for more cancer cells. Human cancer cells with either high DNA autophagy or enhancement of DNA damage are sensitive to inhibition of DNA autophagy.Conclusions: Our investigation revealed DNA autophagy in breast cancer cells with high MN formation. Autophagy of genomic DNA in the cytosol could be mediated by cGAS but is usually coordinated with other autophagic mediators. The selective autophagy mediated clearance of free genomic DNA protects of growth and survival in breast cancer cells even, and autophagic inhibition could be a potential therapeutic approach for cancer cells with high DNA autophagic activity.
Imazapyr herbicideformulation induced multiple abnormalities in gonadal development of Xenopus laevis at environmentally relevant concentrations
Authors: Babalola Oluwaseun Olusegun , Hannes Van Johannes
Published: February 2021

Mankind is now in the era of environmental contamination and pollution, where the environment has become a warehouse of its several toxicants. In fact, there are no longer any pristine area without these anthropogenic toxicants, with serious consequences on wildlife’s physiological processes including growth and reproduction. The widespread occurrence of pesticides for example, is being linked to numerous reproductive malformations in wildlife organisms, but the degree of association has not been characterised. Using the extended Xenopus Metamorphosis Assay (XEMA) protocol, the exposure impacts of imazapyr herbicide formulation (Arsenal), approved for aquatic environment was assessed on gonadal development of Xenopus laevis at environmentally relevant concentrations of 0.5, 2.0, and 3.5 mg/L. The formulation significantly reduced the mean body mass at premetamorphosis (NF-stage 55) at 3.5 mg/L concentration compared to the control. In sex ratio, the exposure only showed marginal fluctuations at all the exposure concentrations. For gonadal malformations, an abnormality index of 17.5%, 25%, and 35% was derived at 0.5 mg/L, 2.0, and 3.5 mg/L concentrations respectively, with malformations including tissues separation, segmented aplasia, aplasia, mixed sex, narrow hypoplasia, and angular deformity. This study showed that at relevant environmental concentrations, this formulation induced concentration dependent complex gonadal malformations, suggesting its potential capacities to induced serious reproductive disruptions that can negatively impacts fecundity, fertility, and general reproductive fitness of amphibians. In order to protect the wildlife from reproductive impacts, there is a serious need for cautions in application of this herbicide formulation
Point-of-care Detection of Lactate in Cerebrospinal Fluid
Authors: Stephani Caspar , Choi Alexis H.K. , Mörer Onnen
Published: February 2021

Purpose: Measurements of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-lactate can aid in detecting infections of the central nervous system and surrounding structures. Neurosurgical patients with temporary lumbar or ventricular CSF-drainage harbor an increased risk for developing infections of the central nervous system which require immediate therapeutic responses. Since blood-gas-analyzers enable rapid blood-lactate-measurements we were interested to find out if CSF-lactate may be reliably measured by this point-of-care technique. Methods: Neurosurgical patients on our intensive care unit (ICU) with either lumbar or external ventricular drainage due to a variety of reasons were included in this prospective observational study. Standard of care included measurements of leucocyte counts, total protein and lactate measurements in CSF by the neurochemical laboratory of our University Medical Center twice a week. With respect to this study we additionally performed nearly daily measurements of cerebrospinal-fluid by blood gas analyzers to determine the reliability of CSF-lactate measured by blood-gas-analyzers as compared to the standard measurements with a certified device. Results: 62 patients were included in this study. 514 CSF measurements were performed with blood-gas-analyzers. 180 of these could be compared to the in-house standard CSF-lactate measurements. Both techniques correlated highly significant (Pearson correlation index 0.94) even though lacking full concordance in a Bland-Altman-plotting. Of particular importance, regular measurements enabled immediate detection of central infection in 3 patients who had developed meningitis during the course of their treatment.Conclusion: CSF-lactate was reliably measured by blood-gas-analyzers and detected developing meningitis timely. In addition to and triggering established CSF-diagnostics, CSF-lactate measurements by blood-gas-analyzers may improve surveillance of central nervous infections in patients with CSF-drainage. This study was retrospectively registered on April 20th 2020 in the German trial register. The trial registration number is: DRKS00021466.
Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the MacNew Heart Disease Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire
Authors: Bae Sun Hyoung , Yoon Myeong-Ho , Park Jin-Hee
Published: February 2021

Background: Myocardial infraction and unstable angina are prevalent in Korea. A widely used patient-reported outcome for patients with heart disease in other countries is the The MacNew Heart Disease health-related quality of life questionnaire In this study we tested the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the MacNew (K-MacNew). Methods: Participants included 200 patients who had experienced unstable angina or myocardial infarction, and they were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Korea. The K-MacNew was developed using forward-backward translation techniques. Its internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity were assessed. Results: Factor analysis results of the revised K-MacNew demonstrated that it has a three-factor structure (emotional, physical, and social) that supports construct validity. The K-MacNew had a moderate relationship between the physical and mental components of the SF-36 (r = 0.517 to 0.745) and depression and anxiety (r = -0.730 to -0.520). The K-MacNew showed reliable internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α of .947 for the total scale. Conclusion: The K-MacNew demonstrated good reliability and validity for use as a patient-reported outcome measure and is ready for the assessment of the health-related quality of life of patients with coronary artery disease in Korea. In order to establish the clinical validity of K-MacNew, additional studies should be conducted to verify the validity and reliability of K-MacNew in a number of participants including various types of coronary artery disease.
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Antibiotic Utilization in Chinese Children
Authors: Guo Shasha , Sun Qiang , Zhao Xinyang , Shen Liyan , Zhen Xuemei
Published: February 2021

Background: Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to public health globally. Irrational utilization of antibiotics being one of the main reasons of antibiotic resistant. Children as a special group, there's more chance of getting infected. Although most of the infection is viral in etiology, antibiotics still are the most frequently prescribed medications for children. Therefore, high use of antibiotics among children raises concern about the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing. This systematic review aims to measuring prevalence and risk factors for antibiotic utilization in children in China. Methods: English and Chinese databases were searched to identify relevant studies evaluating the prevalence and risk factors for antibiotic utilization in Chinese children (0-18 years), which were published between 2010 and July 2020. A Meta-analysis of prevalence was performed using random effect model. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and modified Jadad score was used to assess risk of bias of studies.Results: Of 10,075 studies identified, 101 eligible studies were included. A total of 82 studies reported prevalence and 43 studies reported risk factors for antibiotic utilization in children. The overall prevalence of antibiotic utilization among outpatients and inpatients were 63.8%, and 81.2%, respectively. In addition, the overall prevalence of caregiver’s self-medicating of antibiotics for children at home was 37.8%. The high prevalence of antibiotics was associated with multiple factors, while lacking of skills and knowledge in both physicians and caregivers was the most recognized risk factor, caregivers put pressure on physicians to get antibiotics and self-medicating with antibiotics at home for children also were the main factors attributed to this issue.Conclusion: The prevalence of antibiotic utilization in Chinese children is heavy both in hospitals and home. It is important for government to develop more effective strategies to improve the irrational use of antibiotic. In addition, there is also great need to carry out more large-scale studies of antibiotic utilization on children, especially in rural setting.
Analysis of Longitudinal follow-up Data of Physical Growth in Singleton Full-Term Small for Gestational Age Infants
Authors: Zhao Yan , Fan Xin , Wen Jing , Gan Wenling , Xiao Guiyuan
Published: February 2021

Background: The rate of full-term small for gestational age (SGA) infants is rising worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the catch-up growth pattern of singleton full-term SGA infants in the first of the year. Methods A single-center retrospective study assessed singleton full-term SGA infants was admitted to the Department of Child Health Care, Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children from August 2015 to December 2018. Weight, length and head circumference were measured at birth, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months of age. The Z-score was evaluated. Results A total 210 SGA infants were included in this study. Boys (n=90) and girls (n=120) showed comparable gestational ages, and birth weights and lengths. Weight, length and head circumference in SGA infants of all age groups were increased, with the fastest growth stage from birth to 3 months. The speeds of weight and head circumference catch-up were higher than that of body length. Birth length was not related to parents' heights in both genders. At 12 months, there were significant associations of body length with father’s height, mother’s height and parents’ heights in boys; in girls, body length showed associations with mother’s height and parents' heights. Conclusions Full-term SGA infants grow rapidly after birth, with the fastest growth rate in the first three months as examined by weight, length and head circumference. Within 12 months after birth, catch-up was better for weight compared with length. Finally, body length in SGA infants was positively correlated with the parents' heights at 12 months.
Perianal Ulcerative Tuberculosis: A Case Report
Authors: Lao Weifeng , Mao Weifang
Published: February 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
A Country Level Analysis Comparing Hospital Capacity and Utilisation During the First COVID-19 Wave Across Europe
Authors: Berger Elke , Winkelmann Juliane , Eckhardt Helene , Nimptsch Ulrike , Panteli Dimitra , Reichebner Christoph , Rombey Tanja , Busse Reinhard
Published: February 2021

Background: The exponential increase of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the first wave of the pandemic created an extraordinary overload and demand on hospitals, especially on intensive care units (ICUs), across Europe. European countries have taken different measures to surge ICU capacity, but little is known on the extent. A country level analysis was conducted to compare hospitalisation rates of COVID-19 patients in acute and intensive care and the levels of surge capacity for intensive care beds across 16 European countries and Lombardy region during the first wave of the pandemic (28 February to 31 July).Methods: We used data on infection rates and numbers of current and/or cumulative COVID-19 patients in acute and intensive care in 16 countries and Lombardy region to analyse the burden on hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on COVID-19 hospitalisations was continuously extracted since 20 March, 2020 from publicly available sources. To evaluate whether hospital capacities were exceeded, we retrieved information on hospital and ICU surge capacity. Treatment days and mean length of hospital stay were calculated to assess hospital utilisation by COVID-19 patients during the first wave. Results: Pre-pandemic hospital and ICU capacity varied widely across countries. In no studied country did the utilisation of acute care bed capacity by COVID-19 patients exceed 38.3%. However, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Lombardy would not have been able to treat all COVID-19 patients during the first wave without ICU surge capacity. Indicators of hospital utilisation were not consistently related to the numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The mean number of hospital days associated with one SARS-CoV-2 case ranged from 1.3 (Norway) to 11.8 (France). Conclusion: In many countries, the increase of ICU capacity was important to accommodate the high demand for intensive care during the first COVID-19 wave. Our study indicates that SARS-CoV-2 incidence is not the only aspect when it comes to the burden of hospital care for COVID-19 but rather the utilisation of hospital resources as shown by cumulative hospital days and mean length of stay during the first wave. Indicators presented in this study could inform forecasting models, especially in regard to necessary surge capacity.
Analysis of Enterovirus Genotypes in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children Associated with Aseptic Meningitis in Liaocheng, China, from 2018 to 2019
Authors: Wang Jing , Meng Min , Xu Huan , Wang Ting , Liu Ying , Yan Han , Liu Peiman , Qin Daogang , Yang Qiaozhi
Published: February 2021

Background: Aseptic meningitis is the most common viral infection caused by human enteroviruses, but enteroviruses associated with aseptic meningitis in Liaocheng have not been reported yet. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence and genetic characteristics of enteroviruses causing aseptic meningitis in children in Liaocheng. Methods: We reviewed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 504 pediatric cases with aseptic meningitis in Liaocheng from 2018 to 2019, and analyzed the phylogeny of the predominant enterovirus (EV) types causing this disease. Results: A total of 107 children were positive for EV by the nested-PCR in cerebrospinal fluid samples. Most of the positive patients were children within 13 years old, had symptoms such as fever, headache and vomiting (P<0.05). The most prevalent seasons of EV-positive cases accurred in summer and autumn. The 107 EV sequences belonged to 8 serotypes, and echovirus types 18, 6 and 11 were the three dominant serotypes in Liaocheng during the 2-year period. Phylogentic analyses demonstrated that E18 and E6 isolates belonged to subgenotype C2, while E11 isolates belonged to subgenotype D5. The VP1 analysis suggested that only one lineage of these three types were co-circulating in Liaocheng region. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the diversified enterovirus genotypes attributing to the large outbreak of aseptic meningitis in Liaocheng. Therefore, the large-scale surveillance is required to the epidemiology of enteroviruses associated with aseptic meningitis, and is important for diagnosis and treatment of aseptic meningitis in Liaocheng.
HLA-G Polymorphism Impacts the Outcome of Oral HPV Infections in Women
Authors: Jaakola Anna Julia , Roger Michel , Faucher Marie-Claude , Syrjänen Kari , Grénman Seija , Syrjänen Stina , Louvanto Karolina
Published: February 2021

Purpose: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G may have an important role in the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Our aim was to evaluate the role of HLA-G in the outcome of genital and oral HPV infections in women. Methods: Analyses included 306 women from the Finnish Family HPV-study and were followed-up for six years. Genital and oral samples were tested for 24 different HPV types with multiplex HPV genotyping. HLA-G alleles were determined through direct DNA-sequencing. Unconditional logistic regression was used to determine the associations between HLA-G genotypes and HPV infection outcomes.Results: Nine HLA-G alleles were identified. Most common HLA-G genotypes were the wild type G*01:01:01/01:01:01 (31.3%) followed by G*01:01:01/01:01:02 (26.8%). G*01:01:01/01:01:01 genotype was associated with increased risk of oral HPV infections by any HPV type or single-type with OR=1.86 (95% CI 1.14-3.04) and 2.22 (95% CI 1.14 - 3.71), respectively. G*04:01+ allele and the G*01:01:01/01:04:01 genotype both protected from any and single oral HPV infections; OR=0.46 (95% CI 0.23-0.89) and 0.53 (95% CI 0.23-0.97), respectively. G*01:01:02/01:04:01 genotype increased significantly the risk of infertility and its treatments, with respective OR= 5.06 (95% CI 1.22-21.02) and OR=9.07 (95% CI 1.22-39.50). Both HLA-G alleles and genotypes showed several significant associations with the outcomes of oral HPV infections, but none of them had any impact on the outcomes of genital HPV infections in these women. Conclusion: The host HLA-G genotypes appear to impact the outcomes of oral HPV infections in women but have little if any effect on genital HPV status or infection outcomes.
Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points
Authors: Feizi Nasim , Nasab Hamed Vahdati
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe throwing capacity of Middle Paleolithic points has been an important issue since the discovery of the Neanderthals toolbox. In the Middle Paleolithic, hominins (Neanderthals or H. sapiens) made trusting points with limited or no throwing capability. Projectile points as a long-range weapon were replaced the trusting and guaranteed the survival of modern humans. Several attempts have been made to recognize the aerodynamic differences between Middle and Upper Paleolithic Points. However, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the symmetry and projectile motion rules related to it. In this paper, symmetry and other morphological features, including length, width, weight, cross-sectional area, flatting, and elongation, have been measured on 280 points collected from five Iranian Middle Paleolithic sites. In addition, the Iranian Middle Paleolithic data is compared with several Middle, Upper, and Neolithic sites outside of Iran. The results indicate that the evolution of symmetry alongside increased elongation and proportionality in measurable characteristics was a critical factor in creating projectile points.
Social Cohesion and Cooperation for Public Goods
Authors: Bruggeman Jeroen , Corten Rense
Published: February 2021

A cohesive network keeps groups together and enables members to communicate about and cooperate for public goods. For ongoing cooperation, group members have to know if their group members cooperate or defect, but this information—mostly through gossip—is threatened by noise and biases. If there are redundant information channels, however, errors in monitoring and transmission in one imperfect channel can, to some degree, be corrected by information through another imperfect channel, and may lead to higher levels of cooperation. An influential conceptualization of social cohesion based on redundancy is K-connectivity: the minimum number (K) of node-independent paths connecting pairs of nodes in a group’s network. In a lab experiment, we tested if higher K-connectivity yields higher levels of cooperation for public goods, controlling for a number of other network effects such as density, size, and average distance. We do not find the hypothesized effect, which might be due to a not-earlier-found shortcoming of the concept, and we propose a solution.
Integration of the concept of lean manufacturing and digital technologies of high-tech enterprises in modern conditions
Authors: Хорошавина Н.С. , Абрашкин М.С.
Published: February 2021

Цифровые технологии существенно влияют на мировой рынок, внося коррективы в расстановку сил на нем. Используемые ранее подходы к управлению бизнес-процессами становятся не актуальными в современных условиях. Без цифровизации наукоемкие производства будут не способны выдержать конкурентную борьбу, и вынуждены будут уйти с рынка. В то же время современные условия хозяйствования диктуют необходимость постоянного совершенствования бизнес-процессов наукоемких предприятий, их оптимизации. Данные принципы являются основой концепции бережливое производство, реализация которых становится более эффективной при условии использования цифровых технологий. В статье рассмотрены вопросы интеграции концепции бережливое производство и цифровых технологий на наукоемких предприятиях. Показан пример успешной реализации принципов данной концепции с использованием цифровых подходов к оптимизации бизнес-процессов наукоемкого производства. В современных условиях важнейшим активом любого предприятия, в том числе и наукоемкого производства, являются данные. Реализация принципов бережливого производства требует обработки значительного объема информации. Цифровые технологии позволяют анализировать информационные потоки в режиме реального времени, моделировать бизнес-процессы и тем самым, способствуют более качественному и оперативному принятию решений по оптимизации бизнес-процессов наукоемких производств. Только объединив принципы концепции бережливое производство и возможности, которые дает цифровизация, наукоемкие предприятия смогут не просто удержать свои конкурентные позиции на рынке, но и перейти на более качественный уровень своего развития.

Digital technologies significantly affect the global market, making adjustments to the balance of power in it. Previously used approaches to business process management are no longer relevant in modern conditions. Without digitalization, high-tech industries will not be able to withstand competition and will be forced to leave the market. At the same time, modern business conditions dictate the need to constantly improve the business processes of high-tech enterprises and optimize them. These principles are the basis of the concept of lean manufacturing, the implementation of which becomes more effective when using digital technologies. The article deals with the integration of the concept of lean manufacturing and digital technologies in high-tech enterprises. An example of successful implementation of the principles of this concept using digital approaches to optimizing business processes in high-tech production is shown. In modern conditions, the most important asset of any.
Accounting and analytical support for the activities of budget institutions of the ministry of agriculture
Authors: Стукалова Г.Ю.
Published: February 2021

Текущая экономическая обстановка обуславливает, что для управления хозяйствующими субъектами различных отраслей и направлений функционирования требуется информационный свод как финансового, так и нефинансового характера.
В настоящей статье исследуются и оцениваются целевые положения интегрированной отчетности, введена рекомендация по ее использованию в деятельности бюджетных учреждений Минсельхоза вместо текущей формируемой специализированной финансовой отчетности. Представлены и обусловлены несомненные «плюсы» и практичность от использования в практике интегрированной отчетности не только в качестве корпоративной отчетной формы, но и как отдельной отчетности учреждения сельскохозяйственной среды.

The current economic situation means that the management of economic entities in various industries and areas of operation requires an information set of both financial and non-financial nature.
This article examines and evaluates the target provisions of integrated reporting, and introduces a recommendation for its use in the activities of budget institutions of the Ministry of agriculture instead of the current generated specialized financial statements. There are presented and determined the undoubted «advantages» and practicality of using integrated reporting in practice not only as a corporate reporting form, but also as a separate report of an agricultural environment institution.
The problem of improving the efficiency of specialized aviation and space-rocket communication systems in the context of increasing flows of speech messages
Authors: Бабин В.С.
Published: February 2021

Современный этап развития авиационных и ракетно-космических систем специальной связи характеризуется увеличением объемов речевых информационных сообщений. Речь придает эмоциональный окрас общению, а также позволяет выражать личные качества говорящего, чего гораздо сложнее добиться путем обмена видеозаписями или изображениями. Данные аспекты подтверждают, что, во-первых, растет спрос на голосовую связь, а, во-вторых, возникает проблема повышения эффективности ССС. Возможным направлением решения таковой проблемы целесообразно считать минимизацию затрат частотно-временных ресурсов, в основе которой лежит совершенствование методов обработки данных.

he current stage of development of aviation and rocket and space special communication systems is characterized by an increase in the volume of speech information messages. Speech gives an emotional color to communication, and also allows you to Express the personal qualities of the speaker, it is much more difficult to achieve by exchanging videos or images. These aspects confirm that, firstly, the demand for voice communication is growing, and, secondly, there is a problem of improving the efficiency of the CCC. It is advisable to consider minimizing the cost of time-frequency resources, which is based on improving data processing methods, as a possible way to solve this problem.
Alcoholmeter as a Simple and Accessible Way for Ethanol Determination in Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers
Authors: Estevão Priscila , Colodi Franciely , do Carmo Lucas , Santos Maria de Fátima , Barison Andersson , D’Oca Caroline , Nagata Noemi , de Freitas Rilton
Published: February 2021

Expensive and complex methodologies are available to determine the ethanol concentration in alcohol gel samples. The aim of this article was to demonstrate that alcoholmeter could be used as an alternative method to determine ethanol in gel formulations. Alcohol gel samples were produced using: hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) and Carbopol 940© (CBP). A factorial design was performed to evaluate the interaction between the ethanol concentration, glycerin and polymer contents in the samples in the recovery data of the ethanol content. Rheological analyses were also performed to identify the limiting factors to ethanol quantification. All the results were compared to high resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) as a reference methodology. The results demonstrated that the alcoholmeter could be used to determine alcohol concentration, moreover the level of polymer HEC or HPMC, glycerin and ethanol has no effect in the determination. Yield stress, and not viscosity or flow index, appeared as the limiting factor to the use of alcoholmeter in non-acidified CBP samples. Acidification appears to be mandatory to determination of ethanol concentration in CBP samples. It was possible to achieve an inexpensive, handy and fast methodology to quantify alcohol in gelled samples, in the range of concentrations used in this article.
Predicting the infiltration characteristics for semi-arid regions using regression trees
Authors: Sihag Parveen , Kumar Munish , Sammen Saad Sh.
Published: February 2021

The study of the infiltration process is considered essential and necessary for all hydrology studies. Therefore, accurate predictions of infiltration characteristics are required to understand the behavior of the subsurface flow of water through the soil surface. The aim of the current study is to simulate and improve the prediction accuracy of the infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration of soil using regression tree methods. Experimental data recorded with a double ring infiltrometer for 17 different sites are used in this study. Three regression tree methods: random tree, random forest (RF) and M5 tree, are employed to model the infiltration characteristics using basic soil characteristics. The performance of the modelling approaches is compared in predicting the infiltration rate as well as cumulative infiltration, and the obtained results suggest that the performance of the RF model is better than the other applied models with coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.97 and 0.97, root mean square error (RMSE) = 8.10 and 6.96 and mean absolute error (MAE) = 5.74 and 4.44 for infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration respectively. The RF model is used to represent the infiltration characteristics of the study area. Moreover, parametric sensitivity is adopted to study the significance of each input parameter in estimating the infiltration process. The results suggest that time (t) is the most influencing parameter in predicting the infiltration process using this data set.
Transcriptional Control of the Oxidative Stress Response and Implications
of Using Plant Derived Molecules for Therapeutic Interventions
in Cancer
Authors: Rizvi Asim , Farhan Mohd , Nabi Faisal , Khan Rizwan Hasan , Adil Mohd , Ahmad Aamir
Published: February 2021

:

The oxidative stress response is critical for malignant cells. It plays a dual role
by helping cancer cells survive and proliferate but also causing apoptosis and apoptosis--
like cell death. The oxidative stress response is characterized by tight regulation of gene
expression by a series of transcription factors (OSRts; oxidative stress response transcription
factors). In this communication, we review the role of OSRts, notably NRF2 and
p53 as well as other transcription factors that modulate the response. We discuss how hierarchal
the oxidative stress response is and controls ‘live or die’ signals. This is followed
by a discussion on how plant-derived molecules, including polyphenols, which are
described both as prooxidants and antioxidants within the cancer cells, have been reported
to affect the activities of OSRts. Deriving an example from preliminary data from our
group, we discuss how plant-derived molecules might modulate the oxidative stress response
by causing structural perturbations in the proteinaceous transcription factors,
notably Nrf2 and p53. We look at this information in the light of understanding how
plant derived molecules may be used as lead compounds to develop modulators of the
oxidative stress response.
DL-SMILES#: A Novel Encoding Scheme for Predicting Compound
Protein Affinity Using Deep Learning
Authors: Wang Shudong , Liu Jiali , Ding Mao , Gao Yijun , Liu Dayan , Tian Qingyu , Zhu Jinfu
Published: February 2021

Introduction:

Drug repositioning aims to screen drugs and therapeutic goals from
approved drugs and abandoned compounds that have been identified as safe. This trend is changing
the landscape of drug development and creating a model of drug repositioning for new drug
development. In the recent decade, machine learning methods have been applied to predict the
binding affinity of compound proteins, while deep learning is recently becoming prominent and
achieving significant performances. Among the models, the way of representing the compounds is
usually simple, which is the molecular fingerprints, i.e., a single SMILES string.

Methods:

In this study, we improve previous work by proposing a novel representing manner,
named SMILES#, to recode the SMILES string. This approach takes into account the properties of
compounds and achieves superior performance. After that, we propose a deep learning model that
combines recurrent neural networks with a convolutional neural network with an attention
mechanism, using unlabeled data and labeled data to jointly encode molecules and predict binding
affinity.

Results:

Experimental results show that SMILES# with compound properties can effectively
improve the accuracy of the model and reduce the RMS error on most data sets.

Conclusion:

We used the method to verify the related and unrelated compounds with the same target, and the
experimental results show the effectiveness of the method.
Molecular Modeling Studies on Cytochrome P450-mediated Drug Metabolism
Authors: Muthusamy Ramesh , Bharatam Prasad V.
Published: February 2021

Drug metabolism studies play a critical role in the optimization of the therapeutic efficacy of newer drug
candidates. Many drug candidates and drugs were withdrawn from the pre-clinical/clinical stage or market due to the
poor metabolic profiles. The poor metabolic profiles may make the clinical candidates/drugs inactive or toxic. Therefore,
it is necessary to optimize the metabolic profiles at the initial phase of drug discovery and development processes.
Recently, molecular modeling approaches were found to be useful in the optimization of metabolic profiles of
clinical candidates. The molecular modeling approaches were employed in the identification of various metabolic
profiles. In the present study, the current status of the research work on drug metabolism based on molecular modeling
methodologies has been reviewed. The basics of drug metabolism and its importance in the physiological process
of the human body have been described. Moreover, the involvement of molecular modeling approaches like pharmacophore-
based modeling, QSAR, molecular docking, virtual screening, quantum chemical analysis, molecular dynamics,
etc., in predicting metabolic profiles of therapeutic agents is analyzed. The present review provides computational
insights in the prediction of substrate specificity, metabolic activity, SOM, metabolites, toxicity, etc., on cytochrome
P450-mediated drug metabolism. The study may help the researchers to design novel drug candidates for the
various classes of therapeutic targets with efficient metabolic profiles.
An Improved Computational Prediction Model for Lysine Succinylation Sites Mapping on Homo sapiens by Fusing Three Sequence Encoding Schemes with the Random Forest Classifier
Authors: Tasmia Samme Amena , Ahmed Fee Faysal , Mosharaf Parvez , Hasan Mehedi , Mollah Nurul Haque
Published: February 2021

Background:

Lysine succinylation is one of the reversible protein post-translational modifications
(PTMs), which regulate the structure and function of proteins. It plays a significant role in
various cellular physiologies including some diseases of human as well as many other organisms.
The accurate identification of succinylation site is essential to understand the various biological
functions and drug development.

Methods::

In this study, we developed an improved method to predict lysine succinylation sites mapping
on Homo sapiens by the fusion of three encoding schemes such as binary, the composition of kspaced
amino acid pairs (CKSAAP) and amino acid composition (AAC) with the random forest
(RF) classifier. The prediction performance of the proposed random forest (RF) based on the fusion
model in a comparison of other candidates was investigated by using 20-fold cross-validation (CV)
and two independent test datasets were collected from two different sources.

Results:

The CV results showed that the proposed predictor achieves the highest scores of sensitivity
(SN) as 0.800, specificity (SP) as 0.902, accuracy (ACC) as 0.919, Mathew correlation coefficient
(MCC) as 0.766 and partial AUC (pAUC) as 0.163 at a false-positive rate (FPR) = 0.10 and area under
the ROC curve (AUC) as 0.958. It achieved the highest performance scores of SN as 0.811, SP
as 0.902, ACC as 0.891, MCC as 0.629 and pAUC as 0.139 and AUC as 0.921 for the independent
test protein set-1 and SN as 0.772, SP as 0.901, ACC as 0.836, MCC as 0.677 and pAUC as 0.141 at
FPR = 0.10 and AUC as 0.923 for the independent test protein set-2. It also outperformed all the
other existing prediction models.

Conclusion:

The prediction performances as discussed in this article recommend that the proposed
method might be a useful and encouraging computational resource for lysine succinylation site prediction
in the case of human population.
Research Progress of Essential Oil as a New Complementary Therapy in the Treatment of Depression
Authors: Liang Xinli , Wang Xinli , Zhao Guowei , Huang Xiaoying , Xu Xiqiang , Dong Wei
Published: February 2021

Depression is a mood disorder or affective disorder disease with depression as the main
symptom. It has become a kind of mental disease that cannot be ignored in the world that seriously
endangers human physical and mental health. Antidepressants commonly used in clinics generally
have some defects, including slow action, unremarkable effects, and large side-effects. Therefore,
there has a huge developing space for the research of new and effective therapeutic drugs to supplement
or replace traditional drugs. The essential oil has obvious advantages in the treatment of depression
and other emotional diseases, its aromatic odor can directly stimulate the olfactory nerves, and
the lipophilic small-molecular compounds can cross the blood-brain barrier easily to play its regulatory
role of releasing neurotransmitters and hormones related to depression, or adjusting the expression
of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and proinflammatory cytokines. The pathogenesis of depression
and the problems in traditional medication were illustrated, the research on the antidepressant effects
and mechanism of essential oils in recent years is summarized, and the antidepressant chemical components
in plant essential oils are reviewed in this article. The article provides scientific basis for an
essential oil to be a new choice for relieving depression and treating depression.
Phyto-Compounds from a Rather Poisonous Plant, Strychnos nuxvomica,
Show High Potency Against SARS-CoV-2 RNA-Dependent
RNA Polymerase
Authors: Balkrishna Acharya , Pokhrel Subarna , Varshney Anurag
Published: February 2021

Background:

The establishment of strategy to inhibit the virus replication is
an attractive means in combating SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective:

We studied phyto-compounds from Strychnos nux-vomica (a poisonous
plant) against SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase by computational
methods.

Method:

Molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and energetics
calculations were employed to elucidate the role of the phyto-compounds.

Results:

Ergotamine with a binding free energy of -14.39 kcal/mol showed a promising
capability in terms of binding affinity and the interaction to conserved motifs, especially
the SDD signature sequence. The calculated dissociation constants for ATP,
ergotamine, isosungucine and sungucine were 12 μM, 0.072 nM, 0.011 nM and 0.152
nM, respectively. The exhibited kd by these phyto-compounds reflected tens of
thousands fold potency as compared to ATP. The binding free energies of sungucine
and isosungucine were much lower (-13.93 and -15.55 kcal/mol, respectively) compared
to that of ATP (-6.98 kcal/mol).

Conclusion:

Sharing the same binding location as that of ATP and having high binding
affinities, Ergotamine, Isosungucine, Sungucine and Strychnine N-oxide could be
effective in controlling the SARS-CoV-2 virus replication by blocking the ATP and
inhibiting the enzyme function.
Synthetic and Reactions Routes to Tetrahydrothieno[3,2-b]Quinoline Derivatives (Part IV)
Authors: Abu-Hashem Ameen A. , Abdelgawad Ahmed A. M. , Hussein Hoda A. R. , Gouda Moustafa A.
Published: February 2021

This review describes the synthesis and chemical reactivity of tetrahydrothieno[3,2-b] quinoline derivatives from through many of the reagents such as; 1, 2-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitrile; 1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile; 2,3-dihydropyridazine-4-carbonitrile; 3-amino-thiophene-2-carboxylate; 3-amino-thiophene-2-carbonitrile; 3,4-diaminothieno[2,3-b] thiophene-2,5-dicarbo- nitrile; 2-(3-bromo-1-iodoisoquinolin-8-yl) benzonitrile and 3-mercapto-benzo[g]quinolin-4(1H)-one derivatives. The synthesis of the tetrahydrothieno [3, 2-b] quinoline derivatives were explained through the following chemical reactions: Aldol condensation, alkylation, cyclocondensation, dehydration, chlorination, Wolff-Kishner reduction, acylation, Friedlander reaction and intramolecular cyclization.
Antidyslipidemic Capacity of Cleome arabica (L.) in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats
Authors: Amssayef Ayoub , Eddouks Mohamed
Published: February 2021

Aims:

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of Cleome arabica on lipid metabolism.

Background:

Cleome arabica (L.) is a medicinal plant used traditionally by the population of North Africa for managing diabetes mellitus.

Objective:

This study was designed to evaluate the antidyslipidemic and antiatherogenic capacities of Cleome arabica (L.) in normal and streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

Methods:

The hypolipidemic, antihyperglycemic and antiatherogenic effects of oral administration of the aqueous extract of Cleome arabica (CAAE) (100 mg/kg) were evaluated in normal and diabetic rats. In addition, the quantification of polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins as well as the antioxidant activity were performed.

Results :

The results showed that the extract (CAAE) revealed an antidyslipidemic action by attenuating plasma levels of Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TGs), Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), Very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c) and glucose. Additionally, CAAE exhibited a potent antiatherogenic activity by reducing Atherogenic Coefficient (AC), Castelli’s Risk index-I (cri-I), and Castelli’s Risk Index-II (CRI-II). Furthermore, the findings indicated that CAAE is abundant with polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins, and exhibited an important antioxidant capacity.

Conclusion:

The study demonstrates that aqueous Cleome arabica extract was able to ameliorate lipid abnormalities associated with diabetes mellitus. This pharmacological activity might be due to the antioxidant capacities of phytochemical compounds.
Current Understanding of Epigenetics Driven Therapeutic Strategies in Colorectal Cancer Management
Authors: Deka Dikshita , Scarpa Marco , Das Alakesh , Pathak Surajit , Banerjee Antara
Published: February 2021

Colorectal cancer is known to be the paramount reason for cancer deaths around the
globe. It occurs due to the aggregation of epigenetic and genetic alterations in colon epithelial cells
that transmute them into adenocarcinomas. Epigenetic mechanisms are interpreted as the changes
in expression of the gene which is not associated with the alterations in the principal DNA sequence,
while genetic changes involve modifications in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.
The changes in the epigenetic in colon cancer that transmute colonic epithelial cells include chromatin
modifications, microRNA expression, telomere length, and DNA methylation. DNA hypermethylation
causes down-regulation and unsuitable expression of specific microRNA which can
behave like tumor suppressor genes. Histone modifications can also influence the chromatin remodeling
and gene expression, hence performs an eminent function in the silencing of the gene in
colon cancer. Moreover, the telomere/telomerase interaction is a prime mechanism to embrace both
cellular replicative potential and genomic instability and its malfunction plays a primary role in
colon cancer. Deducing the genesis and the function of epigenetic abnormality in colon cancer
pathogenesis will lead to potent prevention and therapeutic approach for colon cancer patients. Epigenetic
drugs which emphasize the convertible essence of the epigenetic occurrences have accompanied
the probability of epigenetic approach as a treatment alternative in colon cancer. Hence, this
review is undertaken to critically envelop the recently advanced events in colorectal cancer therapies
with a special emphasis on remedies targeting epigenetic modulators and future challenges towards
therapeutic interventions.
Withdrawal Notice: Pharmacy Professionals’ Awareness And Attitudes Towards Counterfeit Medicines In Harar Town, Eastern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Abdunasir Eklas , Amare Firehiwot , Hagos Bisrat , Sosengo Teshome , Yimam Mohammed , Hambisa Solomon
Published: February 2021

The article has been withdrawn from the journal “Applied Drug Research, Clinical Trials and Regulatory Affairs” as it has already been found to be published in the journal “Open Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Research.

Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php

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An Approach of Estimating the Effect of Replacement of Conventional Vehicles by L-category Vehicles on Fuel Consumption and Emissions
Authors: Gao Jianbing , Chen Haibo , Chen Junyan , Liu Ye
Published: February 2021

Background and Objective:

In order to investigate the effect of electric L-category vehicles
(EL-Vs) on traffic characteristics of urban roads, fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, existing
technologies including traffic characteristics, vehicle performance, etc. were used.

Methods:

The relations among traffic density, traffic flow, and traffic speeds were reviewed based
on the real test data in different areas.

Results:

One of the test data was chosen to get the mathematical equations between traffic density
and traffic speed for congested urban roads.

Conclusion:

Then, the equations were used to estimate the reductions in the vehicle fuel consumption
and exhaust emissions brought by the improved traffic situation due to the applications of
ELVs.